by Terri Ottosen, Consumer Health Coordinator, NN/LM, SEA Office

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern Atlantic Region is committed to serving the needs of its members. Toward that effort, the Consumer Health Program has established a CHollaboration resource designed for network members to share consumer health best practices. We decided to call it CHollaboration in the spirit of Consumer Health collaboration and our quest to maintain clever titles. You may have already used the LibGuides on the state pages: health literacy and electronic medical records. The Southeastern Atlantic Region is now sharing our LibGuides with the entire country and all Regions of the NN/LM. (See http://guides.nnlm.gov) If you’ve bookmarked our previous SEA Guides URL, you can continue to access our guides that way, but you can also access them with the new URL. The Chollaboration space is a specific kind of LibGuide called a CampusGuide, which enables password protection of the guide while allowing members to post and share their successful outreach projects and ideas. To directly access this guide, see http://guides.nnlm.gov/chollaboration.

Nancy Patterson, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Terri Ottosen, Consumer Health Coordinator, share the responsibilities for managing the Consumer Health Program for the Region, although each targets a different audience. Nancy primarily serves community and faith organizations, and Terri focuses on public and health sciences librarians along with the general consumer. The creation of this collaborative space is the direct result of feedback received at the Year 04 Regional Planning Meeting which also revealed a need for ready-made, “to-go” outreach materials for the many outreach leaders who have networks in place and passion for their work but lack the time to create materials. Nancy will be working on developing packaged outreach models over the next few years, the first of which will be a health ministry outreach model. Once completed, the models will be uploaded to the CHollaboration space. All members of CHollaboration are encouraged to upload their own successful outreach models as well. Together, we can create a wealth of resources to help organizations and individuals engage in the outreach required to improve the health of their communities.

Several different platforms were considered for this collaborative space, including Moodle, which is the course management system the NN/LM uses for distance education classes, a wiki, which is less than ideal considering security concerns, and other means of providing a secure, shared space. Having gained access to SpringShare’s LibGuides, it was decided to make use of the additional features of CampusGuides, which will easily allow network members to securely share best practices. This platform will also allow sharing by other Regions of the NN/LM, making it a truly cross-regional effort. Once we see how this initial collaborative space works, we will promote it and open it to other Regions in the network. We know that there are some very creative and successful projects in the consumer health field and we’d love to see these projects shared and replicated whenever possible. The collaborative space has a discussion board, so members can post questions or comments to each other, as well as a link to share websites or material locations. Currently, the following categories are tabbed in the CHollaboration space: Training, Outreach Models, Exhibits/Health Fairs, Projects, Webinars, and Websites. We also welcome suggestions for additional categories or anything you may think of that would improve the Guide. Please think of this space as yours, as we are completely open to your ideas. To view the CampusGuide CHollaboration, please visit: http://guides.nnlm.gov/chollaboration. To submit your idea, project or anything else you’d like to share, please contact Terri (tottosen@hshsl.umaryland.edu) or Nancy (npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu) for the password. If you’ve never created or added to a LibGuide before, we’d also be happy to accept your submission and add it to the site ourselves. We are excited to see what results from our CHollaboration.

 ”Our greatest impact is achieved when we are flexible enough to adapt our programs to meet real, articulated needs.”

Judith Rogers
Manager, Learning Resources & Faculty Technology Services
University of the Virgin Islands
St. Thomas & St. Croix, USVI

What is your position?

Manager, Learning Resources & Faculty Technology Services – meaning: manager for University Libraries (both campuses of UVI), and faculty support for the learning environment.

Is there something in your own personal story that led you to do the work you do?

There are three major events that have led to what I do:

1. I began my affiliation with the libraries as a paraprofessional in the Greenblatt Library, Medical College of Georgia (MCG). Through this association, I became affiliated with the Medical Library Association, through which I was awarded a scholarship to complete my MLS degree. The attainment of the MLS degree equipped me to return to the U. S. Virgin Islands and take up a professional position at the University of the Virgin Islands Library (UVI) Library on St. Croix Campus
2. With my medical library experience at MCG and knowledge of the NN/LM programming, I reached out to the Juan Luis Hospital (JLH) librarian for partnership in a grant to educate health professionals throughout the Territory about Medline and other NLM resources. At the time, St. Thomas and St. John did not have access to a medical library locally. We introduced participants to Grateful Med, and successfully promoted the JLH Hospital and UVI libraries to meet some of their information needs.
3. My appointment as the UVI campus librarian opened up several opportunities to grow the library programs through closer collaboration with faculty at UVI. One such opportunity was in chairing an ad hoc committee for faculty development. Through leadership in this position, we established faculty resource centers that are still sustained today through the Libraries as Centers for Excellence in Teaching & Learning.

What do you love most about your outreach work?

I enjoy seeing participants develop an awareness of the vast resources freely available through the NLM and NN/LM SE/A. When you are immersed in the profession, it is easy to assume that information about these resources is being communicated effectively simply because announcements have been made here or there. It is so important to promote our programs actively and continuously using a wide variety of media. Otherwise, folks simply don’t get it!

What is the biggest challenge in what you do?

Developing professional staff who “buy-in” to the vision that effective promoting, teaching and program outreach is very necessary for succession planning. But, that is also our major challenge. In the environment of Internet and social media, some may feel that human interaction for outreach and communicating the value of the profession is diminished. In fact, it is even more important for ensuring that libraries get attention as dynamic entities that meet communities where they are, and provide solutions for their critical needs of daily living.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your work in terms of health outreach to your community’s underserved populations?

Outreach to Juan Luis Hospital and health professionals, including UVI faculty and students, amazingly, continues to produce dividends for the UVI library programs. The library’s strong partnership with the UVI School of Nursing actually grew out of the JLH project, and continues to be strengthened through our outreach to health professionals in the community. I believe the School of Nursing sees us as genuine partners with them in developing students to be effective and nurturing caregivers in the community

What do you see as the biggest health concerns in the communities you serve?

Asthma cases are extremely prevalent here. I’ve experienced this first hand with two members of my own family. Infants, young children and the elderly particularly are impacted. HIV-AIDS and hypertension issues are probably the second and third major concerns.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?

I learned about NN/LM SE/A as an employee at the Greenblatt Library, MCG. I became more aware of the programs through the visits of various SE/A outreach coordinators who have embraced the USVI since the early 1990’s.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A been of help to you?

Outreach from SE/A for training and funding opportunities has been especially helpful. In 2010-11, UVI participated in another NN/LM SE/A funded project to provide training for community healthcare professionals and lay persons. In addition to the success with project participants, the activity brought an added dimension to the UVI programs through the services of an additional staff member, and promotion of the library within the community.

Can you share a success story about the impact of health outreach in your community?

In the early 1990’s I was contacted by a physician on St. Thomas as a follow-up to the health information outreach training conducted there. She became quite proficient in locating articles to support her work and used my library as a supplier for the full-text of articles. Although the St. Thomas Hospital had since established a mechanism for supporting physicians there, our relationship continued for over 10 years until she passed away a couple years ago. She often expressed that the benefit of friendly service and understanding towards her needs was worth reaching out across the water when she needed help.

What advice would you give others who are interested in doing health outreach work in their communities?

1. Ask your contacts in the community to identify their needs and look for ways to match your ideas/resources with solutions to meet those needs. Our greatest impact is achieved when we are flexible enough to adapt our programs to meet real, articulated needs.
2.  Be prepared to have back-up plans for every activity.
3. Don’t give up, even if the response is weak in the beginning. Health outreach enhances the quality of life in the community and, by association, the work that we do.

For more information, please contact Nancy Patterson (npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu).

by Terri Ottosen, Consumer Health Coordinator, NN/LM, SE/A and Andrew Youngkin, Emerging Technologies/Evaluation Coordinator, NN/LM, SE/A

Last month in Las Vegas, the 44th annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — dubbed “the world’s largest consumer technology show” — allowed companies to announce new products and showcase exciting and innovative new products, devices, and technologies. It also offered consumers, retailers, and industry insiders a birds-eye view of emerging tech trends to come. Of particular significance to health care consumers, the 2012 CES included the first Digital Health Summit to promote and facilitate conversation surrounding the growing volume and increased presence of mobile health or “mHealth,” and the overall trend of emerging consumer-focused technologies designed to monitor, assess, and communicate about various areas of our health and well-being.

Healthcare consumers are experiencing a revolution in technology and unprecedented information access that empowers them to incorporate new mHealth tools into their daily lives. The fact that the largest consumer electronics show added a digital health summit for the first time this year points to the wave of the future. Companies are focusing on creating new products, apps, and devices that enhance health and give patients access to appropriate care that improves outcomes while helping to manage escalating costs. These new products focus on prevention and wellness and raised the level of excitement among the conference attendees and the public at large. Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Health delivered two keynote presentations at the conference. He spoke about personalized medicine and the idea that a newer, more precise method of characterizing the genetic qualities of individual patients for diagnosis and treatment is at odds with the century old population-based practice of medicine. “Wireless medicine is not some sort of far-fetched science fiction dream – it’s real and it’s here right now.” He believes that none of these things will happen, however, unless consumers become informed about these new technologies and lead the revolution. [1]

Personalized medicine through the genomic revolution is one of the most intriguing ideas in healthcare today. One of the most talked about products at the summit was the Life Technologies Ion Proton Genetic Sequencer. Dan Costa of PC Mag called it “the coolest thing I saw at CES 2012.” [2] A full genome sequence can be completed in one day using this machine, which costs about the same as an MRI machine. What used to cost approximately $10,000 now can be done for $1000 per sequence. And as the technology continues to improve, the cost of the machine and the time and cost to do the analysis will continue to drop. There are still many unknowns when it comes to using genomic data in healthcare, but machines like this are going to make it possible for medicine to find new ways to use this data for good, including personalizing medications tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup.

Many other products were also featured at the show and included robotic aids, tele-health systems, remote monitoring devices for the home, electronic medical records, and therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices. The opportunities are endless when it comes to these technologies which can eliminate distance and borders and be preventive in their approaches. Apps, including games, can reinforce healthy behaviors and help people monitor vital information to take more control of their own health. There were over 20,000 new products launched at this year’s convention, so it can be a bit overwhelming. However, some products could make an even bigger splash this year. One such buzzed about product is the Doctor in Your Car, which is to be developed by Ford and Microsoft this spring as a method of monitoring the health and wellness of drivers. Inventors say the idea for this technology stemmed from a Pew Research study that found 93% of people say they search online health information because of its convenience. The study also found that 83% seek online health information because they get more information from the Internet than their own doctor. [3] The goal for the developers is to determine how to noninvasively extend health management into the personal vehicle using wearable devices that will monitor health data such as blood pressure, heart rates, glucose levels, and behavioral data.

There’s no question that we, as health consumers, will be exposed to these new technologies and that they will change our lives. There are still hurdles to overcome, but we are at an exciting junction. We are delicately poised on the edge of the revolution and are indeed living in interesting times. The following link is to a video available on the challenges of mHealth, made at the Digital Health Summit, and provides further insight into these technologies and their challenges: http://healthworkscollective.com/node/27831

From the daily lives of consumers to the daily practices of healthcare providers, to medical school classrooms and health sciences libraries, technology has made and will continue to make consumer healthcare more mobile, more visible, more accessible, and more personal.

Consumer Health Coordinator – Terri Ottosen

Having been the Consumer Health Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern Atlantic Region, for almost seven years, I have had the privilege of serving the region’s members through two contracts with the National Library of Medicine and now have begun a third. In this capacity, I have developed new consumer health classes and provided extensive training for consumers, public librarians, and health sciences librarians who serve the public.

Beginning with the last contract, I have focused on new topics of interest including patient informatics (e-patients), veteran’s health resources, and consumer genetics. These classes have proved popular and have been taught in-person and online for several years. Intrigued by the move to increase NN/LM’s distance education offerings, I began adapting many of the existing consumer health classes to Moodle, an open-source version of course management software similar to Blackboard. Focusing my efforts on a suite of consumer health classes online has allowed many in the Region (and some outside our Region) to obtain credits towards earning their Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) from the Medical Library Association. As we all know, the economy has reduced or eliminated travel budgets for librarians to attend classes and it’s sometimes difficult to get a group large enough for an in-person class. Offering free classes online has increased many of our network members’ options for continuing education. For descriptions of all of our consumer health classes please visit the NN/LM SE/A CHIS page: http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/chis/

This year I have set a specific schedule for courses rather than just announcing their availability via the electronic discussion lists and a personal notification list. This has proven to be a good method, as potential participants can plan ahead for the classes they are interested in taking. Also, I am targeting two states per contract year to increase participation of public librarians. The first two are Mississippi and West Virginia. If you know anyone in the Region who may be interested, please share this post with them or have them contact me directly. A total of six consumer health classes are now available via Moodle, which allows participants to complete assignments and readings at their own pace, 24/7. I enjoy developing and adapting classes to the online environment and derive a great deal of satisfaction interacting with everyone. I find that I can get to know the individuals in this environment in an in-depth manner over a longer period of time.

Plans for the current 2011-2016 contract include the continuation of existing classes, online and in-person, as well as the development of some new ones. Many of you may remember Beth Wescott’s Easy-to-Read class. This class has been modified and taught throughout our Region several times. The current version of the class, Promoting Health Literacy Through Easy-to-Read Materials, is in the process of being adapted for Moodle, thus increasing the potential audience and availability. Additionally, the consumer genetics class, ABCs of DNA: Unraveling the Mystery of Genetics Information for Consumers, will be adapted for distance education and hopefully be available by the middle of 2012. These two offerings will bring the total number of online classes to eight, thereby increasing the opportunities for consumer health education anytime and anywhere.

As many of you know, the Consumer Health Coordinator works closely with our Community Outreach Coordinator, Nancy Patterson. Together we coordinate the consumer health program for the Region. Nancy focuses on outreach to faith and community organizations and I focus on consumers and librarians who work with consumers. During this contract period, we plan to create a health and wellness class with a significant focus on the science of happiness, an area of specific interest to us both. We will also create a nutrition class and adapt it for each of our respective audiences. I will also continue to offer new SEAGuides (NN/LM SE/A’s version of LibGuides) on a variety of topics pertinent to consumer health. If you have not had a chance to view the existing guides, including the state pages, please visit: http://seaguides.hshsl.umaryland.edu/, and as always, suggestions for future topics are most appreciated.

Consumer health funding opportunities will continue to focus on providing outreach to seniors, veterans, public and health sciences library partnerships, technological improvements to consumer health centers, and many more. Nancy and I will also be consulting with the appointed Consumer Health Regional Access Committee to continue to bring a robust and exciting consumer health program to the Region. Please continue to give us your feedback and input so we can continue to improve.

The Rural Assistance Center and the National Rural Health Resources Center recently announced the release of an online health IT toolkit aimed at helping rural health care providers plan and implement health IT projects, AHA News reports.

HHS’ Office of Rural Health Policy provided funding to support the development of the online toolkit (AHA News, 1/27).

Toolkit Details

The toolkit offers resources on:

• The planning, setup, implementation and maintenance of health IT systems;
• How to find health IT training programs, management expertise and funding support; and
• The meaningful use program.

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

Goals of Toolkit

The toolkit aims to help rural communities:

• Address hurdles to raising capital for health IT projects;
• Improve community college-based health IT training programs;
• Obtain federal resources to support health IT initiatives; and
• Stay informed about health IT policy (RAC release, 1/26).

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/1/31/groups-release-online-health-it-toolkit-for-rural-health-providers.aspx#ixzz1lAGwQOUr

Resource Links: http://www.raconline.org/collaborate/pr_hittoolk
http://www.raconline.org/hit/

Consumer Health Apps of Interest

by Terri Ottosen

Throughout the year, as Consumer Health Coordinator, I gather information from a variety of resources to keep abreast of interesting happenings in the field of consumer health. In this gathering of information, I’ve found one of the most interesting aspects of consumer health is the explosion of health apps for health-conscious consumers.

According to the Health Care Blog, there are about 9000 consumer health apps in the iTunes store that offer an astonishing array of creative tools that help consumers take control of their health and health care. These include apps that calculate calories burned during exercise, create soundtracks to help people fall asleep, and display pictures that can elicit memories from Alzheimer’s patients. If the store doesn’t offer something for what ails you now, it probably will soon. The selections will proliferate within the next year, with an additional 4,000 consumer apps expected by next summer, industry experts say.[1]

The blog post also points to the problems this can create, as consumers have trouble finding what is available and evaluating information for scientific validity. The government is starting to regulate these apps and recently the Federal Trade Commission brought its first cases against the makers of two health apps who claimed to cure acne with colored lights emitted from cell phones.[2]

Just as health sciences librarians help consumers and health professionals to evaluate health websites, we can assist in the evaluation of health apps. To that end, here are five selected apps that are potentially of value to the health consumer:

1. iTriage
   Users can evaluate symptoms, learn about possible causes, find appropriate medical facilities, and get quality reports and information to make better, more informed health care decisions.
2. Vitals.com
   This app provides federal, state, provider-supplied, patient-supplied and private data to help web users make intelligent decisions about finding the health care provider that is right for them. Vitals gathers the data, normalizes it, benchmarks it, applies quality metrics and presents it to web users as an aid in deciding which health provider to choose.
3. Asthmapolis
   (in design process and not yet available)This app helps asthma suffers to track symptoms, triggers, and use of medications to learn more about and manage the condition. Physicians, public health workers and scientists can also use the app for various remote monitoring and better control uses.
4. Fooducate
   As someone who continually strives to eat healthier, I think using this app will make it easier for me. This app lets users scan the barcodes of food products and receive more information about it, including how much sugar is added, any ingredients or preservatives to watch for, and a letter grade that rates the nutritional value. Healthier alternatives and the ability to compare products are also provided.
5. Glucose Buddy
   This application is ranked #1 Diabetes iPhone Application by the founder of TuDiabetes.com and has been featured in the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast magazine, as well as Wired magazine. Diabetes patients can keep logs on the foods they’re eating and track activities, which are integrated with calorie and nutrition information. There are over 100,000 food items and 200 exercise activities.

What’s your favorite consumer health app?

 Sites Offer Federally Approved Information on HIV Treatment and Research

To mark World AIDS Day 2011 (December 1), a redesigned AIDSinfo Web site has been released, along with the Spanish-language infoSIDA.  These sister sites offer federally approved information on HIV treatment and research to health care providers, researchers, people affected by HIV/AIDS, and the public. Resources include medical practice guidelines, treatment and prevention research studies, educational materials for consumers, and information on approved and investigational HIV/AIDS-related drugs.

Information is available in both English and Spanish. AIDSinfo and infoSIDA are services of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), managed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). NLM is the world’s largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Redesign of the sites was based on research on user needs and behaviors and focused on reorganization of content and improved navigation to make information easier to find.

Changes to the sites include: 

·         Reorganizing content logically into six main categories, including new categories for Education Materials and Mobile Resources and Tools.

·         Creating a home page design that gives users a snapshot of the entire Web site, direct access to all site content, and the ability to search for information without having to click away from the home page.

·         Improving navigation to reduce the number of clicks necessary to access information anywhere on the sites.

·         Providing links to resources such as mobile applications and social media tools (including Facebook and Twitter) throughout the sites to make them accessible from any page.

·         Creating a distinct Web address for infoSIDA-http://infoSIDA.nih.gov to make it easier for users to bookmark and for search engines to index infoSIDA.

AIDSinfo welcomes feedback on the redesigned Web sites by e-mail (ContactUs@aidsinfo.nih.gov), phone (800-448-0440), or Live Chat.

AIDSinfo and infoSIDA are sponsored by: 

·         National Library of Medicine (NLM), Office of AIDS Research (OAR), and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the National Institutes of Health

·         Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), US Department of Health & Human Services;

·         Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Department of Health & Human Services;

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/aidsinfo_infosida_redesign.html

Nancy Patterson

In October of 2009, I left my position in Resource Sharing at the Health Sciences & Human Services Library at the University of Maryland to join the Regional Medical Library team just a couple of floors up in the same building. As the new Community Outreach Coordinator, I was to fill Mandy Bayer-Meloy’s shoes. Many of you in the Region had the pleasure of working with my predecessor, Mandy, so can imagine what a daunting idea that was.

In my first week as a new RMLer, I attended the MLA Southern Chapter meeting in Memphis. I want to thank you all now for being so kind to me when I didn’t even know what my job was – Southern hospitality at its finest. Since that time, I’ve learned a great deal – about my job, of course, but even more about the Region and what works best when doing health outreach for our consumers.

I work mainly with community and faith-based groups – nonprofits, volunteer organizations, and health ministries. It’s very rewarding to work with this group of people who give of their limited time and resources so freely in an effort to help their communities. Some of the communities I visit are the poorest of the poor, yet the community leaders and volunteers feel so fortunate in life that they want to give back. It’s a great lesson in the importance of gratitude, no matter what.

NN/LM SE/A has basically 3 outreach avenues:  exhibiting, funding and teaching. In my position, I man the exhibit booth at consumer health shows, design and teach classes related to consumer/minority health, and monitor assigned NN/LM SE/A funded outreach projects. My 2-year education has provided these insights:

Exhibiting:

• Pace the tchotchkes! If you put all of the pens out at the beginning, no one will be lured to your booth later in the day.
• Remind people that they own the National Library of Medicine and all of its resources. It gets their attention.

Funding:

• There really is no dumb idea. If you think a Health Research Computer can be installed at the local beauty salon and people will use it, let’s talk.

Teaching:

• Never go into a consumer health class to tell people what their community needs.
• Never leave a consumer health class without asking what their community needs.

Of those three aspects of my job, I’ve evolved in my approach to teaching the most. I now discuss more than lecture and I often ask more questions than are asked of me. I’ve also added health disparities, health literacy and cultural competency components to most of my classes. Because so many of the groups I work with consist of “special populations” like racial and ethnic minorities and senior citizens, I am passionate about reducing the health disparities that exist between their communities and those of more fortunate Americans. Improving health literacy is a huge component in affecting such social change.

Over the course of the next five years of our contract, some of the plans I have in store are:

• Creating and promoting new classes:

• Immigrant Health
• Nutrition Across the Lifespan
• Health, Wellness and the Pursuit of Happiness (which addresses the strong link between a person’s happiness and health)

• Creating outreach partnership models that can be easily duplicated – based on successful projects. The first will be based on a health ministry model.

• Facilitating introductions between health outreach enthusiasts throughout the Region that have complementary needs and resources – as requested and also via advertised web summits.

As I head into my third year on the job, I look forward to working with all of you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas – I’d love to hear from you.

Nancy Patterson
Community Outreach Coordinator
(410) 706 2858
npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu

”I learn from the community as well as they learn from me.”   

Joyce Linnen
Community Health Advisor
REACH US: SEA- CEED
Project:  Georgetown County Diabetes CORE Group
http://www.georgetowncountydiabetes.com/index.html
Georgetown, South Carolina

What is your position? 

I am currently the Community Health Advisor for the REACH US: SEA-CEED (SouthEastern African American Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities in Diabetes) program with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Nursing & the Georgetown County Diabetes CORE Group.

Is there something in your own personal story that led you to do the work you do?

Several years ago I lost my paternal grandfather due to the diabetic complications. With all the education I thought I had I never knew why he had so many issues with his eyes and circulation in this hands and feet. Later on several other problems arose from uncontrolled diabetes. One day I attended a workshop on diabetes at my church being done by the Georgetown County Diabetes CORE Group. From that 90-minute presentation, I realized what was going on with my grandfather. I was amazed because if I only knew some of what I learned that evening I probably would have been able to help my grandfather much more. After that night I decided I wanted to become a member of the Georgetown County Diabetes CORE Group and to be trained to go out to educate my community about diabetes and other health disparities from a layman’s point of view.

What do you love most about your outreach work? 

I love meeting people of various ethnicity and cultures and enjoy knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life. I really enjoy the teaching and being taught as well. Sometimes I learn from the community as well as they learn from me.

What is the biggest challenge in your work?

One of my challenges is not having an adequate amount of funds that sometimes puts limits in what I would like to do for the people. Another challenge is sometimes lack of commitment on the part of the participants, which leads to non-compliance and not achieving goals due to their limited personal resources.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your work in terms of health outreach to your community’s underserved populations?  

The most fulfilling part of my work is seeing my clients accomplish their goals and learning what they need in order to live a longer and healthier life.

What do you see as the biggest health concerns in the communities you serve?

 The communities I serve are very rural areas within Georgetown County. The nearest health facility for the majority of the residents is 20- 30 miles away; therefore, it’s difficult for them to have access to a lot of health information (health education & health literacy) or services (access to care) because of lack of transportation. They are subsequently being left out of the loop and that’s why they are not controlling their diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and obesity issues.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?

I first came to know NN/LM SE/A when I worked on a library health education project with Barbara Carlson, a librarian from the MUSC REACH 2010 Diabetes Education Program, Marilynn Lance-Robb, (Ma Flo) Florene Linnen and several other librarians and community partners that were being trained on Pub Med and Medline Plus. We all returned to our respective communities and educated people on how to use the Internet and modern technology to access reliable health information. Our program in 2006 won 1^st place and receive the National Health Information Award.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A  been of help to you?

The grant funding we have received from the NN/LM SE/A has allowed us to bring our community up to par with modern technology where they may not have had an opportunity otherwise. It also allowed me to educate them on various health topics in a more creative and interesting manner (i.e. using MedlinePlus interactive tutorial program). Also, since being introduced to MedlinePlus has helped inform me about several health issues of my own. The website has become a part of me and I make it a point to regularly introduce it to people from many different educational and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Can you share a success story about the impact of health outreach in your community?

One of many success stories is about my Men’s Health Campaign that began in 2010. I wrote a grant through the NNLM to educate men about various health issues and concerns. I had a computer workspace in one of their group-meeting locations and did several trainings with them about Men’s Health. I am very pleased to say this men’s group is continuing today educating men about various health issues and the issues and concerns men deal with. I can say that I currently provide technical assistance. The group is growing very strong on their own. They still have computer health classes and they have health pointers and tips discussions during their meetings. I count this as a success because “working with men”, training them to be educators, was totally different from “educating men”.

What advice would you give others who are interested in doing health outreach work in their communities?

 The advice I would give others is to make sure this is your passion and you are willing to be dedicated and committed because it takes a lot of hard work and long hours. Also be willing to “think outside the box” and make adjustments.

If you would like to share your story or suggest another person for our “Inspiring People” feature, please email Nancy Patterson:  npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu

This month, in celebration of National Medical Librarians Month, we will be sharing stories of librarians who have advocated for librarians or for libraries. We are kicking off our celebration with a story about a librarian advocating for her consumer health library and the need for health literacy by Amy Six-Means.

Demonstrating the value of librarians within the organization to improve patient’s experience throughout their healthcare interaction
by Amy Six-Means, MLIS, Hanesbrands Health Learning Center, Forsyth Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC

Right after completing my MLIS, I started a position as a clinical medical librarian. At my first Mid-Atlantic Chapter meeting that year, I first heard the term “health literacy.” As a former elementary teacher, this captured my attention and I investigated it. The more deeply I investigated and learned, the more involved I wanted to become in helping healthcare professionals and healthcare consumers become aware of health literacy and its impact.  Empowering patients by being more aware of how to support and increase health literacy and therefore strengthen patient-healthcare interactions became my passion.

In January of 2008, I realized the beginning of that passion becoming a reality when I was hired by Novant Health (NH) to be their first Consumer Health Librarian. My goal to empower patients was slow to start. Many had heard the term “health literacy” but were unable to internalize it so that it could be incorporated into the organization more thoroughly. About a year ago this changed as the organization initiated a system of Organizational Improvements.

One of these was a strategy to improve patient “Voice and Choice.” I saw an opportunity and after sharing with the Director of Patient Services here at Forsyth Medical Center about how I became a consumer health librarian, I was asked to be part of the Novant Health Patient Education Team. As part of that corporate group, I have had the pleasure of being heavily involved in several team initiatives to improve the information we offer to patients. I was then asked, because of my health literacy expertise, to be one of the persons responsible for revamping the 30+ page corporate diabetes manual. That was a project with which I was honored to be asked to participate. It not only introduced me to more of my organizational colleagues, who may or may not have known about how the consumer health library could support their patient education, but also allowed me to offer suggestions about the manual to address and meet health literacy guidelines. I have been pleased by the overwhelmingly positive feedback by the majority of reviewers.

My involvement with the NH Patient Ed Team has opened another opportunity which will further expand the improvement of patient-healthcare interaction.  Recently, I was approached by someone in Administration as they were looking to change all their materials and processes for the Ambulatory Surgical Centers across the corporation. They were interested in knowing if the librarians could help them as they seek to find better ways to utilize resources in the Ambulatory Surgical Centers. Overall, they realize the value of providing information to patients and families that they can understand and act upon prior to as well as following a procedure. Their several goals include; 1) reducing patient/family fear and stress caused by not knowing what to expect, 2) improving patient satisfaction by giving better information about their surgery experience, and 3) improving patient safety and comfort throughout the healthcare experience. This last goal will be realized through 1) better patient compliance, and 2) empowering patients to know when to call their healthcare provider.

I was thrilled that we were approached to participate in this, a result of my work with the NH Patient Education Team.  It demonstrated that those within the highest levels of the organization realize how health literacy can positively impact the healthcare experience of patients and families. It also demonstrated the realization of the significant role we librarians have to offer in the process of organizational change.