The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) launched the Genetics Home Reference (GHR) Web site on April 25, 2003 as a new consumer health information resource focused on human genetics. The creation of GHR coincided with the completion of the Human Genome Project, a 13-year international effort to map the entire human genome.

For more information, visit the NLM Technical Bulletin article at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma13/ma13_ghr.html

By Nalini Mahajan
Director, Medical Library
Marionjoy Rehabilitation Hospital

Information Connections is a website for parents of children with developmental disabilities and chronic diseases with a special focus on Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Down Syndrome, and Traumatic Brain Injury. The informative website was developed and launched by the Marianjoy Medical Library with funding from the National Network of Library of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM GMR) and is sponsored by Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. It is accessible to anyone from anywhere and it is free.

Since its initial launch in April 2011, InformationConnections.org has helped thousands of families seeking help on these topics. Website usage and feedback in our first year has been exceptional.

We would love to promote our Web site to everyone who could benefit from this wonderful resource and would appreciate any help from you. Please spread the word around; like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, feel free to blog about us, and place a link to us on your website. Our goal is to have 500 friends by the end of 2012. Once we reach the magic number of 500 friends, 3 winners be selected randomly and each will receive a $25.00 gift certificate.

By Sandi L. Bates MLIS
Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences
University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota’s Library of the Health Sciences exhibited at the Grand Forks Women’s Show Oct. 1, providing an opportunity to share NN/LM resources with more than 1,900 people.

For the second year we shared the booth with Dr. Edward Sauter’s research team. Dr. Sauter is professor of surgery at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences and does extensive breast cancer research and education. The exhibit provided both an outlet to discuss health topics with consumers and a place for women to actively participate in the research. We will be able to continue to participate in the translational research platform being built by the University of North Dakota through efforts like this exhibit.

We were able to make contacts with healthcare professionals who were interested in consumer health resources. A local senior center encouraged us to drop brochures and MedlinePlus magazines off for their clientele. Our supply of printed materials for MedlinePlus and Household Products were depleted by the end of the day.

HHS has announced winners of an awards program “that highlights innovative health promotion projects that have demostrated a significant impact on the health of the community within the past three years…”

Nominated organizations had to have an innovative project in at least one of three health promotion areas: healthy weight, physical activity, and nutrition. Awards were granted based on the criteria of creativity and innovation, leadership, sustainability, replicability, and results/outcomes. Some of the winners are in our region:

• Public Sector: Exercise Your Right to Feel Better Minnesota—St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health (St. Paul, Minn.)
• Healthy Workplace (Large employer): Shape up and Go!—Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Faith-Based and/or Community Initiatives: Taking the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program to Scale—YMCA of the USA, (Chicago, Ill.)

The press release can be found here: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/07/20110715a.html and more information including a video by Secretary Sebelius, http://healthylivinginnovation.challenge.gov/

Congratulations to the winners!

The GMR Update for July 2011 is now available online at the following URL:
http://nnlm.gov/gmr/about/gmrupdate.html

Check the contract updates, new communication technologies and information about upcoming exhibits and training opportunities.

Happy summer!

The Bringing Health Information to the Community blog (fondly referred to as the BHIC blog) was developed by the NN/LM MidContinental Region (NN/LM MCR) about four years ago as a way to provide information to staff at community based organizations and public health departments, clinics, and others outside of libraries that the MCR staff encountered in their outreach efforts. It was also created as a tool to be used by NN/LM MCR members to share information with people within their institutions and communities.

With the new NLM contract, the BHIC blog has moved over to become a national blog, and staff at four other RMLs (including the GMR!) will be contributing writers. The new URL is http://nnlm.gov/bhic/. (more…)

The Mount Carmel Health Sciences Library has opened a new Consumer Health Library on the campus of Mount Carmel West Hospital.  One of the first of its kind in central Ohio, the library is designed to provide in person and virtual health and wellness information to central Ohio residents.

“The Consumer Health Library offers a wide spectrum of resources to meet the health information needs of our community,” says Stevo Roksandic, Director of Library Services. “With our personal assistance and guidance through the vast resources of this new library and todays’ informational abundance we can assist consumers in understanding disease and treatment options as well as exploring areas of prevention, health and wellness.” (more…)

By Carol Stukey
Librarian
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
Chicago, IL

The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) Library recently finished its Health Information Outreach to Community Partners project. Generously funded as an Outreach Express award by the NN/LM Greater Midwest Region, the project involved presentations to established PCOM community partners on health information resources from NLM and NIH.

The award funded the purchase of a laptop, projector, and portable projector screen, as well as digitizing hardware and software.  The presentations ranged from informal to formal, and the audience size varied from one to nearly seventy.  Presentations were well received; I really banged the drum for MedlinePlus and other pertinent NLM sites. (more…)

By Erinn Aspinall, MSI, AHIP
Special Projects Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN

The University of Minnesota Health Sciences Libraries hosted the National Library of Medicine’s Changing the Face of Medicine traveling exhibit from October 25-December 5, 2010.  This exhibit celebrates the many contributions of women physicians.  The Libraries planned several events in concert with the exhibit to honor the past, present and future of women in medicine.

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Heartland Health Outreach Refugee Health Programs will be hosting a Health Information Day with their Chicago Public Library (CPL) partners as part of their New Americans Library and Internet Access Project. Heartland Health Outreach has been working with the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences outreach librarian, Lisa Massengale, to expand access to quality health and medical information for both older and newly arrived immigrants and refugees through a Consumer Health Subcontract that that is funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region.

This is the second of two Health Information days and will take place at the Rogers Park Branch of CPL at 6907 N. Clark Street, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 15, 2010. (more…)