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CHIC CHAT

Community Health Information Partnership (CHIP)
Curtis Memorial Library, Parkview Adventist Medical Center and Mid Coast Hospital - Brunswick, Maine

From a modest beginning in 1995 of a personal computer and a few CD products from the Mayo Clinic, the collaboration of Curtis Memorial Library with Parkview Adventist Medical Center has grown into a robust Community Health Information Partnership (CHIP) of Curtis Memorial Library, Parkview Adventist Medical Center and Mid Coast Hospital. In 2003, Bowdoin College joined CHIP as a provisional operational partner.

Highlighted Accomplishments:

Over the last five years, to accomplish the goal of providing quality, current health information to the communities they serve the partners have:

• In November, 2004, developed and rolled out a CHIP website at http://www.chiplibrary.org with content from Curtis Memorial Library, Parkview Adventist Medical Center and Mid Coast Hospital and design work by Allure Creative. The website features CHIP resources at the library and both hospitals, local and state health resources, classes and support groups, health highlights on health topics, links to quality national resources and to MARVEL, the suite of online databases with full-text articles from journals and magazines.
• Began running CHIP ads in The Times Record in November 2004. The contract specifies two ads per month and the ads feature CHIP resources, health topics, local, state and national resources.
• Purchased 2644 books, audiobooks, videos and periodicals with total circulation of 19,331 and 2943 renewals as of March 3, 2005 and an average of 40 in-state, inter-library loans per/month. Provided online, 24 hour a day access to online health databases from home and the library, first through an online product licensed by the CHIP partnership and currently through databases licensed by the State of Maine.
• Worked as a project partner with The Jeremiah Cromwell Disabilities Center to purchase and distribute books about developmental disabilities to the libraries in the hospitals' catchment area. Eleven public libraries, Parkview Adventist Medical Center and Mid Coast Hospital all received a children's collection of books. An additional collection for parents and educators went to the four largest public libraries and to Mid Coast Hospital and Parkview Adventist Medical Center.
• Provided two traveling collections of health materials that are reaching residents of Bath, Topsham, Freeport, Dresden, Bowdoinham, Richmond, Lisbon Fall and Wiscasset. Added the Orr's Island and Cundy's Harbor libraries in Harpswell to the travel collection rotation.
• Developed two consumer health collections for staff at the Parkview Adventist Medical Center and the Mid Coast Hospital to arrive in 2005.
• Co-sponsored with the Cornerstones of Science a successful program Lyme Disease: Reduce Your Risk.
• Provided access to free Curtis Memorial Library cards for all staff at CHIP partner institutions.
• Provided health, wellness and parenting materials to clients of the Tedford Shelter at both the family and single shelters with a deposit collection at both shelters.
• Promoted the partnership through brochures, a health information kiosk at Curtis Memorial Library, and newsletters focusing on allergies, mental health, seasonal affective disorder, parenting, skin cancer prevention, nutrition and winter exercise, low-vision resources, and teenage alcohol abuse as well as partnership news and resources.
• Provided training for area librarians on online health resources with a trainer from the National Library of Medicine.
• Co-sponsored Senior Passport, a project to promote life-long learning for seniors that contained a component to use online health resources.
• Received a $10,000 grant from the Ferguson Foundation to create Learning Bags/ health kits for area day cares, provide health videos to area schools and add more circulating health and wellness materials for children and young adults to the library collection.
• Received a $5,000 grant from the New Century Community Library program and a $1,000 grant from the Lions Club to develop a low-vision center at Curtis Memorial Library. The center, estimated cost $10,000 has a station to magnify and to convert text into speech using technology such as scanners, text converters, sophisticated software and computers.
• Contributed $2,000 toward printing the Children's Resource Handbook, a directory of children's resources in the area that is compiled by the Friends of the Library and available on the web. Copies of the handbook are distributed by Families Can to community service agencies and copies are available in libraries, schools and the hospitals.
• Cosponsored, with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Friends of the Library, a TV Turnoff Week gymnastics event on the Brunswick town mall and tips for Taming the TV habit on the Brunswick cable TV station.

For More Information:

CHIP Partners

Curtis Memorial Library
23 Pleasant Street
Brunswick, ME 04011 Voice: (207) 725-5242 x 204 (reference desk)
Email: refdesk@curtislibrary.com
Web: www.chiplibrary.org & www.curtislibrary.com

Mid Coast Hospital
123 Medical Center Drive
Brunswick, ME 04011
Voice: (207) 373-6571 (library)
Web: www.midcoasthealth.com

Parkview Adventist Medical Center
329 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME 04011
Voice: (207) 373-2111 (Community Health Education)
Web: www.parkviewamc.org

Sources:

Executive Summary, CHIP Partnership, Last update 3/24/2005

Site visit, April 5, 2005

1) New topic added: Age-related Macular Degeneration (contributed by NEI, National Eye Institute)
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/agerelatedmaculardegeneration/toc.html

• Features these chapters:
  - AMD Defined
  - Causes and Risk Factors
  - Symptoms and Diagnosis
  - Treatments and Research

2) New topic added April 15, 2005: Low Vision (contributed by NEI, National Eye Institute)
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/lowvision/toc.html

• Features these chapters:
  - Low Vision Defined
  - Causes and Risk Factors
  - Signs of Low Vision
  - Rehabilitation

3) Videos added to Sleep and Aging (contributed by NIA, National Institute on Aging)
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/sleepandaging/toc.html

• Videos are:
  - "Snoring"
  - "What Can You Do About Sleep Apnea?"
  - http://nihseniorhealth.gov/videolist.html

4) Recent additions to Exercise Stories
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/exercise/stories/stories.html

- Mike from New Jersey -- Activities: Sailing, Biking, Strength Training
- Delores from Texas -- Activities: Aerobics

Coming Soon:
Next topic scheduled for release: Diabetic Retinopathy (contributed by NEI, National Eye Institute)

Michelle.Eberle@umassmed.edu, Consumer Health Care Coordinator