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REWARDS: A Multi-Part Learning Program
R -
Read a book on a
selected topic
E - Enjoy talking about the book and its topic with
others
W -
Watch a movie on the
topic
A
- Analyze the topical points in the movie
R -
Review the literature using a topic
bibliography
D - Discuss the
topic with an expert
S
- Share
the topical information with a
friend
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For a number of years the REWARDS program was a collaboration between Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team (EDT), and the Scientific Library. This multi-part program was designed to help attendees learn more about consumer health topics through participation in Movie Showings, Invited Speaker Talks, and Topic Discussions that included a book selection.
As of 2010, REWARDS: A Multi-Part Program has been discontinued in its original format. The same goal of consumer health education is being reached with the use of two other Scientific Library programs: Science in the Cinema and the Reading Diversions Book Club. Please check those websites for current information. The archived REWARDS programs listed below are still available for checking out of the Scientific Library.
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Whenever possible, we videotaped the REWARDS speakers, purchased multiple copies of the books, and bought videotapes or DVDs of the movies. We then packaged them together and added them to the Scientific Library's Center for Health Information collection so that library barcode holders could check them out to view at home.
Below is a list of REWARDS programs available from the Scientific Library. The list is organized alphabetically by consumer health topic.
- ALCOHOL
ABUSE
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00204
BOOK: SMASHED: THE STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD by Koren Zailckas; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 274 .Z22 2006 (10 copies)
An eye-opening and gripping memoir, Koren Zailckas's story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics-yet-but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgment.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: 28 DAYS
This 2000 drama stars Sandra Bullock. After having a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.
DOCUMENTARIES:
1) BINGE DRINKING
This 19-minute program shows how drinking too much too fast can be deadly. It explains what to do if someone develops acute alcohol poisoning.
2) ALONE IN THE DARK
This 30-minute program is a suspenseful drama that depicts the lethal dangers of alcohol, and shows how actions have consequences.
INVITED SPEAKER: Mr. Mike Saponara, a MD certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, who is currently a Primary Addictions Counselor at Mountain Manor Outpatient and Safe Haven Counseling Center
No Web Bibliography is available for this program.
- ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00175
BOOK: THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3569 .P363 .S736 2004 (10 copies)
The story unfolds as an older gentleman reads a story to an older woman in a nursing home. Through flashbacks we see the development of a love story. The connection between the old and the young becomes clear as the older woman exhibits signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIES:
1) IRIS
The movie is a tender, emotional depiction of novelist Iris Murdoch (Judy Dench and Kate Winslet) as she struggles with Alzheimer's disease. It covers the period from just before her marriage to intellectual John Bayley (Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville) until her death.
2) THE NOTEBOOK
This poignant movie, starring Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands, is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.
INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Edward Feher, Frederick neuropsychologist
Web Bibliography
- AUTISM
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00171
BOOK: CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 203.5 .H116 2003 (10 copies)
Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: SILENT FALL
Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychiatrist who attempts to treat an autistic boy who witnessed his parents' murders. The child only communicates by imitating others.
INVITED SPEAKERS:
1) Dr. Ralph McBee, Psy.D., Co-Director of Services, Monocacy Neurodevelopmental Center, Frederick, MD
2) Ms. Paula Mathis, Parent and Registered Nurse, Occupational Health Services, NCI-Frederick
Web Bibliography
- BRAIN
HEALTH
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00228
BOOK: THINK SMART: A NEUROSCIENTIST'S PRESCRIPTION FOR IMPROVING YOUR BRAIN'S PERFORMANCE by Richard Restak; Call Number: Reading Diversions WL 300 .R436 2009 (4 print copies and 1 audio copy)
The author combines advice culled from cutting-edge research with brain-tuning exercises to show how individuals of any age can make their brains work more effectively.
Book Discussion Questions
DOCUMENTARY MOVIE #1: SCRABYLON
This award-winning, critically-acclaimed documentary focuses on the cutthroat world of tournament Scrabble®. Featuring fierce anagrammers, rack balancers, and bingo experts, the program delves deep into the wacky, odd, and compelling subculture.
DOCUMENTARY MOVIE #2: WORDPLAY
The linguistic ballet of the crossword puzzle and the obsessive minds that wrestle with them are a source of delight in this charming documentary that is built around the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
DOCUMENTARY: THE BRAIN FITNESS PROGRAM
This program is based on the brain's ability to change and adapt, even rewire itself. In the past two years, a team of scientists has developed computer-based stimulus sets that drive beneficial chemical, physical and functional changes in the brain.
Web Bibliography
- CIVIL
WAR MEDICINE
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00198
BOOK: MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER by James L. Swanson; Call Number: Reading Diversions E 457.5 .S972 2006 (10 copies)
For 12 days after his brazen assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was at large, and in MANHUNT, historian James L. Swanson tells the vivid, fully documented tale of his escape and the wild, massive pursuit.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE:THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT
This 1998 made-for-TV movie, starring Rob Morrow and Lance Henriksen, is based on the book by Jim Bishop. The movie is a thrilling and detailed chronicle of the plot, murder, and manhunt that changed America forever.
INVITED SPEAKER:
Mr. Jason Grabill, a Civil War Surgeon re-enactor and historian, and a docent with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, MD
Web Bibliography
- CYSTIC
FIBROSIS
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00178
BOOK: ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD by Frank Deford; Call Number: Reading Diversions WI 8920 .D315 (10 copies)
The book tells the moving story of Alexandra Deford, a very courageous young girl who lost her battle with cystic fibrosis at the age of 8.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD
This inspiring, 1986 made-for-TV movie starring Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia, is based on Frank Deford's book.
INVITED SPEAKERS: Dr. Mike Dean,head of the Human Genetics Section of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, Dr. Bert Gold, senior staff scientist and licensed genetic counselor
Web Bibliography
- DEAFNESS
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00176
BOOK: IN THIS SIGN by Joanne Greenberg; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3557.R3784 .G795 1984 (10 copies)
A young, deaf, married couple navigate the strange world of the hearing as they raise a hearing daughter.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
William Hurt plays a newly-hired teacher at a school for deaf children, where he meets the deaf janitor, played by Marlee Matlin. While trying to teach deaf students how to speak, Hurt also reaches out to the withdrawn, antisocial Matlin.
INVITED SPEAKERS: Ms. Lisa Houck and Ms. Louise Hansch, Itinerant Teachers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Frederick County Public Schools
NOTE: No speaker video is available for this topic.
Web Bibliography
- DEATH
AND DYING: ALIVE AND WELL IN THE 21st CENTURY
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00216
BOOK:TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom; Call Number: Reading Diversions WE 550 .A339 1997 (7 printed copies and 1 audio CD)
This 1997 best selling non-fiction book tells the true story of Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his student Mitch Albom. It chronicles the lessons about life that Mitch learns from his professor, who is dying from amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIES:
1) FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
This movie tells the story of a war vet and maintenance worker at the Ruby Pier amusement park, who dies while trying to save a girl sitting under a falling ride. When he awakens in the afterlife, he encounters five people with ties to his corporeal existence who help him understand the meaning of his life.
2) THE BUCKET LIST
This film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that one of the men compiles to achieve "before you kick the bucket." The two go off on what may be the last grand adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals as they can in the time they have left.
INVITED PANEL OF SPEAKERS:
1) Ms. Cheryl Parrott, Director of Communications at NCI-Frederick
2) Ms. Andrea Warnick, R.N.
3) Ms. Marlene Lee, former American Red Cross Volunteer of the Year, Disaster Services, National Capital Area
4) Mr. Selden Cooper, On-Site Employee Assistance Program Provider at NCI-Frederick
No Web Bibliography is available for this program.
- DEPRESSION
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00188
BOOK: A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby; Call Number: Reading Diversions PR 6058.O689 L66 2005 (10 copies)
This book tells the story of four very different people who encounter one another on the roof of a London building on New Year's Eve, where they are all contemplating suicide.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIES:
1)PERMANENT RECORD
In this 1988 movie starring Keanu Reeves, a surprise suicide of a teenage boy affects everyone in the community in different ways.
2) GIRL, INTERRUPTED
In this hard-hitting 1999 movie starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, a young woman who has attempted suicide is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she meets other women with emotional problems.
INVITED SPEAKER: Ms. Suzanne Borg, Program Director for the Frederick County Hotline, Frederick County Mental Health Association
Web Bibliography
- DIABETES
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00190
BOOK: GOING TO THE SUN by James McManus; Call Number: Reading Diversions PZ 4 .M167 1996 (10 copies)
A young diabetic woman takes a solo bike trek from Chicago to Alaska, a journey that helps her come to terms with a past heartbreak and present health issues.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: STEEL MAGNOLIAS
This 1989 movie stars Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah as a close-knit group of friends who share their lives in a small town in Louisiana. One member of the group has Type 1 diabetes, a situation that affects everyone in different ways.
INVITED SPEAKER: Ms. Linda Hicks, Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator with the FMH Diabetes Center.
Web Bibliography
- HEART
DISORDERS
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00174
BOOK: TAKING ON HEART DISEASE: Peggy Fleming, Brian Littrell, Mike Ditka, Walter Cronkite, Joyce Carol Oates, Eddie Griffin, Mike Wallace, Kate Jackson, Ed Bradley, Tommy Lasorda, Pat Buchanan, Victoria Gotti, Regis Philbin, and others...reveal how they triumphed over the nation's #1 killer and how you can, too by Larry King; Call Number: Reading Diversions WG 200 .K5356 2004 (10 copies)
The author takes the reader through his experience with heart disease, and explores stories of others who also faced it, whose names and work are known to the general public.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
An older man (Jack Nicholson) suffers a heart attack at the home of his younger girlfriend's mother (Diane Keaton). Keanu Reeves plays the cardiac doctor caring for Nicholson.
INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. John Vitarello, Frederick cardiologist
Web Bibliography
- LAUGH
FOR THE HEALTH OF IT!
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00206
BOOK: SATURDAY MORNINGS by Mark Butt; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 90 .B988 2006 (2 copies)
This book is a compilation of the author's weekly newspaper columns published in the Frederick News Post.
There are no Discussion Questions for this book.
MOVIES:
1) MRS. DOUBTFIRE
This 1993 comedy stars Robin Williams, Sally Field, and Pierce Brosnan. After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper so he can spend time with his three children.
2) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
This 1974 Mel Brooks comedy stars Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and Marty Feldman. Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.
COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?, HUMOR YOUR STRESS, THE JOY OF STRESS, LIFE IS NOT A STRESS REHEARSAL
INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Mark Butt, Frederick scientist/columnist/humorist
List of Jokes
- MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00215
BOOK: A SUNDOG MOMENT by Sharon Baldacci; Call Number: Reading Diversions RC 377 .B175 2006 (8 copies)
In this novel, Elizabeth Whittaker's seemingly perfect life is derailed after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The disease affects her relationships with the well-meaning people who love her but don't know how to help her. Although the book is fictional, the author has suffered from multiple sclerosis for the last 20 years, so the story is realistic and authentic.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: HILARY AND JACKIE
This film follows the true story of the tragic life of the brilliant international concert cellist Jacqueline Du Pre and her sister, Hilary. Hilary's devotion to her sister causes them to take some rather drastic measures in their lives. The irony of having a great musical ability fades away as Jacqueline transcends into a slow decline when struck with multiple sclerosis.
COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, ASPECTS OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Web Bibliography
- PETS:
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00225
BOOK: DEWEY: THE SMALL-TOWN LIBRARY CAT WHO TOUCHED THE WORLD by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter; Call Number: Reading Diversions SF 445.5 .M998 2008 (4 print copies and 1 audio copy)
This uplifting and funny book tells the story of a bedraggled orange fur ball that became "Dewey Readmore Books," an enchantingly irresistible library mascot capable of melting the hearts of even the most curmudgeonly library visitors.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: MARLEY AND ME
Marley is an irresistible fluff-ball of a yellow lab puppy who has an uncanny ability to eat and/or destroy just about anything. As the years go by, Marley grows into 100 lbs. of funny, wild, completely untrainable canine companionship -- as well as one of the most important members of the family of John and Jennifer Grogan, played by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. This movie is based on the best-selling autobiographical book by columnist John Grogan.
INVITED SPEAKERS:Linda Shea, Humane Educator and Shawn Snyder, Volunteer Coordinator, Frederick County Animal Control, Frederick, MD
SPEAKERS ON DVD:The Human-Animal Bond: What Has Your Pet Done for You Lately? (recording from an NIH program on November 25, 2008)
No Web Bibliography is available for this program.
- SMOKING
AND TOBACCO
Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00223
BOOK: GASP!: A NOVEL OF REVENGE by Frank Freudberg; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3556 .F889 1996 (5 copies)
Martin Muntor, dying from cancer after decades of heavy smoking, vows to wreak his revenge upon the industry that is killing him by distributing poisoned cigarettes and creating havoc.
Book Discussion Questions
MOVIE: THE INSIDER
Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a former tobacco scientist who exposes big tobacco's lies about cigarettes. 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) reports Wigand's story, in spite of corporate objections.
COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: MODERN MARVELS: TOBACCO, NOT A COUGH IN A CARLOAD, DREAM STEALERS, IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE WHO SMOKES, GET THEM TO WATCH THIS VIDEO
INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Dean, Head, Human Genetics Section of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, NCI-Frederick, and author of the book EMPTY CRIBS: THE IMPACT OF SMOKING ON CHILD HEALTH
INVITED SPEAKER: Mr. Todd Crum, Frederick County Health Department
Web Bibliography
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If you have any questions about the REWARDS programs, please email the Scientific Library Public Services Librarian.
