Congratulations to the following sites receiving GMR funding for the
Wednesday, March, 2013, MLA Webcast:
Partnering to Prevent Diagnostic Error: Librarians on the Inside Track
Broadcast: 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m., CT

For information on the webcast and a list of additional sites, visit: http://www.mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/spring13/

Enjoy your webcasts and let us know how it goes!

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The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) announced the addition of two new maps featuring data on 1) American Indian and Alaska Native Population and 2) Black or African American Population: http://www.raconline.org/news/details.php?news_id=19437. Both maps can be customized for use in grant proposals and other publications. Maps can be adapted to show county, region or state-specific information. The Interactive Mapping System also allows for customization of labels, boundaries and other features. The Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES) has worked with the Rural Assistance Center to provide a collection that now includes 37 maps on topics such as:

• Hispanic/Latino populations
• Child care
• Critical Access Hospitals
• Disability status
• Education levels
• Medicare
• Poverty levels

It’s already February, the sun is rising a bit earlier, and for a lot of us, it’s still light on the commute home. Almost. Those of us who are optimists can see spring on the horizon. What better time to start planning an outreach project!

The GMR will be making announcements on GMRLIST and here in the blog regarding potential funding for outreach and other projects as we prepare for the next contract year, Option Year 2 (May 1, 2013-April 30, 2014). What should a potential outreach award applicant prepare in anticipation of the funding season? Here are a few considerations:

• Start collecting data on your targeted population; Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce (phpartners.org) has an excellent Health Data Tools and Statistics site that will help you find County, Local, State and National Health Data: http://phpartners.org/health_stats.html

• Not sure of the types of potential funding that come through the GMR? Take a look at the variety of awards and subcontracts that have been funded over the past two years on our Funding Recipients page as well as the previous contract, Funding Recipients-2006-2011 Contract.

• Thinking of working with another library or organization such as a CBO? The NN/LM Members Directory Advanced Search provides an easy way to find NN/LM members by institution name, person name, city, state, zip code, county or area code in addition to searching my type of services offered at the institution. Check out the Advanced Search page by clicking on the NN/LM Members Directory image below:

For more information about funding opportunities or other GMR services, contact your state’s GMR Coordinator: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/about/staff.html.

NN/LM Southeastern/Atlantic Region (SE/A) Outreach and Communications Coordinator, David Midyette, has penned an article on the SEA Currents blog entitled: Cultural Competence in Health Sciences. Check it out: http://nnlm.gov/sea/newsletter/2013/02/cultural-competence-in-health-sciences/ Here’s an excerpt:

The old analogy of the United States as a melting pot is being transitioned into a more modern understanding of the U.S. as more of a salad. The various ethnic and cultural backgrounds of people in the country, legal, illegal, or otherwise, present the health care community with a plethora of beliefs about health and healing. Frequently these beliefs come into direct contact/conflict with the Western style of medicine that is the predominant practice in the U.S. healthcare system. State medical and allied health licensing boards are increasingly faced with the challenges of ensuring that new practitioners are culturally competent as they begin to practice their craft, and that experienced practitioners develop skills to deal with sometimes drastically different belief systems held by their patients.

Thanks, David!

The GMR is offering to sponsor a number of sites for the upcoming MLA Webcast: Partnering to Prevent Diagnostic Error: Librarians on the Inside Track to be held on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, from 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m., CT.

Visit: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/funding/mlawebcast/ for detailed information on how to become a sponsored site.

The GMR will cover the registration costs for up to two (2) sites per state in the region for this webcast. Because of the limited number of sites we can sponsor, we encourage you to work with your state and local librarian groups to identify centralized locations. Sites will be selected based on geographical location, accessibility, and potential number of attendees.

The deadline to email/fax your registration and email supporting information to the GMR is NOON, Friday, February 15, 2013.  Note: Michigan librarians will send their applications to Barbara Platts.

Contact Holly Burt at the GMR, if you have any questions.
For more information on this webcast, visit: http://www.mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/techtrends/

Where can I find reliable health information available in Chinese?

 What steps can I take to control diabetes?

 How can I keep healthy?

 Do you have these questions and want to find the answers in Chinese? From our work at outreach events, such as the Annual Asian American Health Fair, we know that many people do. The place to go is MedlinePlus, a website created by the National Library of Medicine. It contains reliable, up-to-date health information that’s easy to understand, for patients and health professionals alike. The Taubman Health Sciences Library has created a new video to show you how to find health information that is available in Chinese.

Chinese translation of this post available on our blog: http://healthoutreach.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/medlineplus-resources-in-chinese/

Link to video: http://youtu.be/i-UJAV6MqDw

Embed video code:

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/i-UJAV6MqDw?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

We have also created a cartoon to help advertise the video!

Knowledge Management in Hospitals:
Developing a team to test and ensure success.

This 1.5 day workshop (February 7-8 in Chicago) will explore how corporate knowledge management techniques and processes are applied in a hospital/health system. Multidisciplinary participants will work together to craft a strategy to adopt an expanded role for librarians in hospital/health system. This expanded role will establish a foundation for librarians to support the clinical environment by providing excellent knowledge management techniques and processes. (more…)

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the release of a new educational resource, GeneEd. http://geneed.nlm.nih.gov

Developed in collaboration with the National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI) (http://www.genome.gov/) and with teachers and experts in genetics and genetic counseling, GeneEd is a useful resource of trusted information which helps students and teachers in grades 9 – 12 learn genetics. (more…)

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 Robin Sabo
Assistant Professor/Health Professions Librarian
Central Michigan University

As both a Registered Dietitian and a Health Professions Librarian, I know how valuable MedlinePlus can be to health professionals. Not only is MedlinePlus the best consumer-health website for dietitians to refer their clients, but MedlinePlus also contains exceptional resources for dietetic practice.

Exhibiting at the Michigan Dietetic Association 2012 Annual Conference, April 26-27 in East Lansing was a great opportunity to share the power of MedlinePlus with my dietitian colleagues. Three hundred and twenty dietitians from throughout the state attended the conference. They work in positions involving clinical practice, foodservice, community nutrition, education, public relations and media and in settings including acute care hospitals, long-term care, universities, government, corporations and non-profit organizations.

The dietitians were eager to learn about LactMed, Daily Med and the Dietary Supplements Label Database. Resources for Your Health brochures particularly African-American Health, the Consumer Health for Seniors card and MedlinePlus bookmarks and pens were especially popular. In future dietetic meetings, the anatomy video collection would be an excellent resource to highlight as well as content aimed at seniors since many dietitians work with that population. I felt energized after having the chance to spread the word about all that MedlinePlus offers dietitians.