About fifty children of Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine employees visited the SIU School of Medicine Medical Library on Take Your Child to Work day, Friday, July 17, 2009. The Medical Library was one of the stops during a day of activities throughout the School.

ToxMystery and Understanding Medical Words, two National Library of Medicine tutorials, were introduced to several groups in our computer training room and public computer area. ToxMystery lets you find hazards around your home (http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov), and through MedlinePlus, a consumer health information site, the tutorial Understanding Medical Words teaches the meaning of medical words by interacting with patients and doctors (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords/). The children earned certificates of participation and were given ToxMystery activity books which included the web addresses of the sites.

Christina Wray Creech
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center for Disability Information and Referral
2853 E. 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408

Do you remember that giddy feeling you got the first time you explored the Internet, or the first time you were reading something for school and you really “got it?” It’s an AMAZING feeling that opens whole new worlds up, and accessible technology is one of the great tools that can help people with disabilities connect and communicate in the classroom and beyond.  There are a lot of different options out there, both with software and hardware, and it can be difficult for people to know where to begin in finding the right fit for themselves or their students.  Now, thanks in part to a Technology Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region, the Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDIR) can offer visitors the opportunity to try out a variety of different software and navigation tools at an adjustable height table to see what works best for them!

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Celebration of Dance, Song, Unity and Health Information!

by Kate MacDougall
Outreach Librarian
University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries
Ann Arbor, MI

On June 27 and 28, 2009, the University of Michigan’s Health Sciences Libraries participated in the 8th Annual Mending the Sacred Hoop Powwow in Tecumseh, MI. The Leh-Nah-Weh Native American Organization hosted the event on the fields of the Cal Zorn Recreation Center. The Health Sciences Libraries shared information about MedlinePlus and the various Native American health information resources available through the National Library of Medicine.

See http://tiny.cc/SgI0U for complete set of event photos.

Gerald “Jerry” Dujsik retires today from his position as Director, Learning Resources, Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) in Chicago. Jerry as been at the College for over 23 years. He received his MALS in 1970 from Rosary College (now Dominican University). He began his library career at the age of 19 as a student assistant while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago and worked as a hospital librarian before starting at ICO in the then-new Learning Resources Center in 1986. (more…)

Christine Frank
Director
Library of Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, IL

Library and McCormick Educational Technology (METC) staff volunteered their services at Rush’s Spring Into Health and Fitness Fair sponsored by held at the west side Chicago Christian Industrial League on May 16th. Linda Ronan and Chris Frank staffed a health information table, providing an array of consumer health pamphlets from the National Library of Medicine and the Medical Library Association. The pamphlets were funded with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine Department of Health and Human Services, Under Contract No. N01-LM-6-35-3 with the University of Illinois at Chicago. With their laptop computer and printer, Linda and Chris also answered specific health information questions through quality consumer health information Internet sites, including National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov).
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Fran Kovach
Reference & Education Librarian
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Springfield, IL

On June 5-7, 2009 Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Library participated in the 4th Annual Taylorville Black Horse Pow Wow in Taylorville, Illinois at the Christian County Fairgrounds. People came from the Christian and Sangamon county areas, as well as other cities in Illinois. Others attending were from the states of Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. The Tribes/Nations represented Apache, Blackfeet, Cherokee, Catawba, Cree, Kiowa, Mohawk, Meskwaki, Navajo, Ogalala, Oneida, Ponka, and Sioux. (more…)

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

On Friday, May 15, 2009, several librarians from the University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries took part in the first employee health fair organized by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA). Bus drivers, bus mechanics, office workers, and their family members were encouraged to attend this event for health assessment and disease prevention: blood sticks for cholesterol and glucose readings, an ultraviolet screening for melanoma, prostate specific antigen (PSA) analysis, and other types of health testing.

Vendors included the local Visiting Nurses Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and similar organizations. In addition, free back massages were offered by a local firm; Whole Foods Markets gave out coupons and freebies; and a running shoe store exhibited its wares. There was also the possibility of winning a windshield screen, t-shirt, or water bottle by spinning a wheel of chance, as well as a $100 gift certificate—all as inducements to take part in the health fair. Healthy snacks were available: veggies, fruit cups, yogurt, and turkey franks.

In the midst of all this activity, throughout the day, the librarians had their own table from which they were offering reliable health information through distributing flyers (and pens) about MedlinePlus.  It was a well planned and well organized event that elicited good feelings that time and, potentially, good health results in the future.

Eileen Severson
MLIS Supervisor
Library and Health Information Services
Health Sciences Library
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
La Crosse, WI

At the WHSLA 2009 Annual Meeting in La Crosse, WI, the board was honored to award the Librarian of the Year award to Barbara Benisch Sisolak, Senior Special Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Department of Surgery Library.

Barb has demonstrated many times her qualifications for this award.  Since becoming the Senior Special Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Department of Surgery, she has been an active participant in our many library professional organizations.  She has participated in WHSLA as member of the Communications Committee, President-Elect, and subsequently President and Past-President.  Barb is a participant in surgery society conferences as well.  In all of her roles in library and health-related organizations, Barb is the consummate professional and serves as a mentor to others new to the organization, the profession, or outside the profession.

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Christopher Childs
Education & Outreach Librarian
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa

Partnering for Patient Empowerment Through Community Awareness (PPECA) Article

Rhonda Reimer, the Special Project Coordinator of the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella, IA, and I recently collaborated on an article for the Focus On Patient Safety, the official newsletter of the National Patient Safety Foundation.  The article, entitled Hospital Uses PPECA “Train the Trainer” Program to Help Community Groups Empower Patients, discusses the PPECA  presentation made at the hospital and how the staff took the knowledge gained and created their own community outreach program on patient safety.

You can read this article by going to http://npsf.org/paf/npsfp/fo/pdf/Focus_Volume_12_%20Issue_1.pdf

Christopher Childs
Education & Outreach Librarian
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa

New Influenza A (H1N1) also known as the Swine Flu Resource Guide Available from the Hardin Library

A new resource guide containing information on Influenza A (H1N1) has been created and is available from the Hardin Library.  All of the information contained in this guide is free and available to the public.  The guide includes: national & international resources, maps, blogs, an RSS and Twitter feed, Iowa resources, articles, and consumer health resources available in English, Spanish and multiple Languages.

The URL for this guide is http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/content.php?hs=a&pid=43862 Please feel free to link this guide to your institution’s website.