Check out the May issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research. And consider joining us on Facebook, where you can write on our wall to suggest topics you’d like us to cover, or start a discussion about how you use the newsletter. Go to http://www.facebook.com/r.php?page_id=45385547967&r=111&locale=en_US to sign up to connect with NIH News in Health on Facebook.

In this edition

No More Butts
Snuff Out That Cigarette for Good

If you’re a smoker, chances are you’ve already tried to quit. So you know from experience that it’s not easy. But many do succeed in the end. The health benefits you’d gain make quitting worth the effort.
full story

A Window to Your Health
Your Eyes Reveal a Bigger Picture

Your vision seems great. Your eyes feel completely fine. But if you haven’t seen your eye care professional in a while, you might have an eye problem that you don’t know about.
full story

Health Capsules:

1. Exercise Helps After Heart Failure
2. Catch Oral Cancer Early
3. Featured Web Site: Go Local

International Association of Emergency Managers

The 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness: The Power of Citizen Corps, is being hosted by FEMA’s Community Preparedness Division on August 9-12, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA. The conference is open to all who are interested in making their communities safer, stronger, and better prepared for all types of hazards. It will bring together approximately 600 state and local elected officials, emergency management, fire and police services, public health and emergency medical services, non-governmental organizations, private business and industry, advocacy groups, and members of public.

Attendees at the 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness will:

• Share best practices on collaborative emergency planning
• Discuss preparedness outreach and education for targeted populations
• Learn innovative approaches to funding
• Hear updates on DHS/FEMA initiatives
• Hear about successful training and exercises
• Share volunteer management practices
• Network with other participants

More information on the conference can be found on the conference website: http://www.iaem.com/NCCP2009.htm

by Michael Rhode, Archivist, Otis Historical Archives,
National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

Walter Reed Army Medical Center is celebrating its 100 years of care for America’s service members and their families. By Congressional legislation, construction of the Walter Reed General Hospital was authorized, and the Hospital admitted its first patients on May 1, 1909. Named in Major Walter Reed’s honor, the medical center was founded on principles that would integrate patient care, teaching and research.

From the Otis Historical Archives in WRAMC’s National Museum of Health and Medicine, the museum’s archives staff provided graphics and content for two new books featuring the history of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center Centennial: A Pictorial History – “A profusely illustrated history covering the full range of WRAMC’s activities in service to the Army and the Nation.” Hardbound. About 2/3 of the photographs are from the Museum’s collections.

• ISBN: 008-000-01020-0, Price: 35.00
• http://bookstore.gpo.gov/actions/GetPublication.do?stocknumber=008-000-01020-0

Borden’s Dream – “An engaging history-memoir covering WRAMC’s early history, filled with stories about the people and events that shaped its evolution as an institution.” Hardbound. This is the first publication of a 50-year old manuscript from WRAMC’s library.

• ISBN: 008-023-00135-9, Price: 55.00
• http://bookstore.gpo.gov/actions/GetPublication.do?stocknumber=008-023-00135-9

By using social media tools, FEMA is able to capture and share the various H1N1 preparedness and recovery efforts and discussions across the country, making them readily available to the public. Online FEMA multimedia and social media resources include:

• www.twitter.com/femainfocus: Get the latest FEMA information and participate in forums addressing issues.
• www.youtube.com/fema: Vignettes about FEMA programs.
• www.fema.gov/media/multimedia/: View FEMA video shorts on preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
• www.fema.gov/radio/index.jsp: FEMA MP3 files of recent radio news and Public Service Announcements.
• www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/programs/gc_1220128923561.shtm: FEMA’s Federal Hurricane Response Widget.
• www.ready.gov/vblog: Ready Campaign’s video blog featuring public-created preparedness videos.

The NN/LM SE/A is pleased to announce the availability of funding for contract year 04. SE/A members may apply for funding to conduct outreach, technology improvement, training, exhibiting, planning or assessment, hospital library promotion, and digitization projects. See http://nnlm.gov/sea/funding for more information. Additional funding opportunities may be announced later this year. Stay tuned to SEA Currents.

If you have any questions during the application process, please contact the NN/LM SE/A Office at 800-338-7657 or email me jkelly@hshsl.umaryland.edu or one of the SE/A outreach coordinators.

http://nnlm.gov/training/resources/emresponse.pdf

To help mitigate the impact of disasters on libraries providing support to healthcare providers and their patients, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) has developed and sustains the emergency response plan to help Network members maintain their information services in the event of a disaster.

The effectiveness of the plan depends on collaboration from a broad range of participants including individual Network members, eight Regional Medical Library (RML) offices and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The plan’s structure is designed to provide a framework that begins with preparedness and continues through emergency response and recovery.

The emergency response plan supports a communication strategy for participating members and the RML offices that may be utilized prior to and during an emergency. The plan provides a strategy to support essential services for Network members based on a preparedness plan and assigns responsibility for follow-up and reporting after each incident or emergency event.

Roles/Definitions

Network Members: Maintain an up-to-date Emergency Preparedness Plan to include essential services and resources, strategies for continuity of service, and critical contacts. Use What if Disaster Strikes: Planning and Preparation, http://nnlm.gov/training/ resources/emplanning.pdf. During a disaster, the Network member implements their Emergency Preparedness Plan, contacts back-up library, their state coordinator and the RML Office. (1-800-DEV-ROKS)

Back-up Libraries: Are our first responders to an affected library for communication and service continuity. They maintain a current list of contacts and should proactively work out the level of support (preferably through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or a Mutual Aid Agreement (MAA) see http://nnlm.gov/ep/mou-showcase/ ) to be implemented with Network Members in the event of a disaster.

Regional Coordinators: Are appointed by the regional RML Office and are a part of the team that helps ensure continuity of service to the affected Network member. They follow-up with and after-incident report to the NN/LM office.

Publishers and Vendors: May work together to temporarily provide resources in disaster-stricken areas through the Emergency Access Initiative (EAI) Collaborative that is still under discussion and testing.

National Library of Medicine (NLM): Maintains the NN/LM National
Emergency Preparedness & Response Plan and functions as a back-up resource when local and regional resources have been exhausted.

Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC): DIMRC is tasked with the collection, organization and dissemination of health information resources and informatics research related to disasters of natural, accidental, or deliberate origin. This Center helps with national emergency preparedness and response efforts. http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc.html

RML Offices: Are responsible for coordinating a response when requested by a Network member, re-routing DOCLINE, notifying the Regional Coordinator of the incident after being contacted by a Network member, and providing needed recovery resources as feasible. They are also responsible for promoting the plan, providing training on continuity of service planning, facilitating back-up library relationships, and assisting with MOU development.

Library Networks/Consortia: The RML will work with regional library networks and consortia to provide preparedness, planning and continuity of service disaster training.

Apply to join the management team at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in Bethesda, Maryland. We’re part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and located just outside Washington, D.C.

We are looking for an experienced library manager with knowledge of interlibrary loan to serve as the Head of the Collection Access Section. The section manages the DOCLINE interlibrary loan system which serves over 3,000 libraries and 2 million loans each year. Section staff annually process and deliver over 200,000 interlibrary loans from NLM’s collection. They provide over 80,000 items to customers in our public reading room and respond to customer inquiries for all of these services. The Section accomplishes this work with over 20 government staff, a handful of contracts and a dozen part time students.

Join the federal government and receive great benefits while contributing to an important part of NLM’s mission, to provide biomedical information to users through medical and research libraries throughout the United States and the world.

If you have never worked for the U.S. government, follow the instructions and use USAJobs to apply to announcement number HHS/NIH-2009-2361. Or if you currently or have previously worked for the government, you can apply to announcement number HHS/NIH-2009-2363. The salary range is $102,721-$133,543 USD per year and you must be a US citizen to apply. Posting closes at midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, May 15, 2009.

Questions? Contact Susan Burns at burnss@mail.nih.gov or 301-496-3661.