UTHSCSA Library News

“Keeping up with NLM’s PubMed” has Successful Turnout in Laredo

Analiza Perez-Gomez and Cathy Craig from the Laredo Community College Library are receiving training on PubMed from Cheryl Rowan from NN/LM SCR

On January 20, 2011, Cheryl Rowan, Public Health Outreach Coordinator, and Michelle Malizia, Associate Director, from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine South Central Region (NN/LM SCR) office in Houston traveled to the Laredo Regional Campus Library to teach “Keeping up with NLM’s PubMed.” Librarians and health professionals from the Laredo community were invited to this four-hour, hands-on training class in order to expand their knowledge and use of PubMed. PubMed is a free resource containing more than 20 million citations from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books that is developed and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Library staff members from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Laredo Regional Campus, Laredo Community College, and Texas A&M International University participated in this class. Staff members from the South Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program attended the training as well.

In addition to the PubMed class, Ms. Rowan also taught a class entitled “Medline Plus and More.” MedlinePlus, available in a variety of languages including English and Spanish, is an internet resource that provides access to reliable consumer health information on the Internet.

Participants were extremely pleased with the classes and left either with new knowledge of an excellent resource to share with students and health professionals or a better understanding of a useful research tool.

Posted in Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News, Websites | Comments Off

16th National Symposium on Juvenile Services

San Antonio hosted the 16th National Symposium on Juvenile Services on October 10th-12th. The 3-day event expected over 400 juvenile justice professionals to attend for training workshops. Training topics covered the care, management and programming for youth in detention centers. The symposium is sponsored by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS). The NPJS mission is to: advocate for youth, families, and communities, promote best practices and standards, and provide professional development for practitioners serving at-risk and delinquent youth. UTHSCSA Libraries staff member Peg Seger exhibited at the symposium to introduce MedlinePlus and other NN/LM resources to those attending.

Posted in Conferences, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

2011 10th Annual Summer Institute on Evidence-Based Practice

Hosted annually by the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio School of Nursing, the Summer Institute is attended by clinicians, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, librarians, researchers, educators and administrators from around the country and abroad. The focus for the conference this year was healthcare quality and safety. Librarians Linda Levy, pictured here, and Peg Seger represented the UT Health Science Center Briscoe library at the Institute held in downtown San Antonio on June 30th and July 1st. Attendees were particularly interested in learning more about searching PubMed this year. PubMed ® “Provides free access to MEDLINE®, the NLM® database of indexed citations and abstracts to medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, health care, and preclinical sciences journal articles.”

Posted in Conferences, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

20th Annual San Fernando Health and Safety Fair

Saturday, October 2nd, proved to be a beautiful day for the 20th Annual San Fernando Health and Safety Fair. The fair was held on the grounds of the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio. Over 400 volunteers including doctors, dentists, nurses, community workers and students make the fair possible each year. The UTHSC library staff has participated in this primarily outdoor event come rain or shine for a number of years. This year staff members Keith Cogdill and Peg Seger enjoyed the good weather while introducing MedlinePlus consumer health information to fair participants. Free screenings provided at the fair included: body mass index, cholesterol, blood pressure, vision, dental, podiatry, dermatology, mammography, prostate, and diebetes. Founded by Father Vergil Elizondo, the fair has 3 primary objectives.

(1) Provide a “safe harbor” setting for medically underserved with personalized health screenings, education, and referral services by specialized health professionals.

(2) Provide follow up services for participants with abnormal/high risk screening results.

(3) Link children, elderly, the working poor, an others with language, cultural, financial or eligibility barriers to service with a wide-range of health care and education providers.

Posted in Health Fairs, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

21st Annual San Fernando Health & Safety Fair

The weather was beautiful but an early morning fire in downtown San Antonio caused a delay and some relocation of exhibit tables at the 21st Annual San Fernando Health & Safety Fair. The UT Health Science Center Briscoe library has exhibited at this fair for many years and this year was no exception. In spite of difficult circumstances due to smoke and emergency equipment, over 100 fair attendees visited the library exhibit table to learn about the health information resources provided through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Fair attendees learned how to look up medications and medical conditions on MedlinePlus® and many children were introduced to ToxMystery.

Posted in Health Fairs, Hispanic health, News, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News, Youth | Comments Off

AHEC/Library Internship at UT Health Science Center

The South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and the UT Health Science Center Libraries are offering an unpaid internship for an undergraduate student interested in a possible career in medical librarianship.

The goal of this collaboration is to increase the number of students in South Texas who pursue health sciences librarianship as a career path.

The first internship will be conducted as a pilot at the UT Health Science Center Libraries in San Antonio, including the Briscoe Library and the Downtown Library. Depending on the results of an evaluation of the 2008 internship, subsequent internships may be planned for the Ramirez Library at the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen in 2009 and for the Laredo Campus Extension Library in 2010.

The internship will engage the student in activities that will introduce him or her to a broad range of responsibilities within a medical library environment, with a focus on community engagement. The evaluation of the pilot internship in 2008 will rely on a brief report written by the intern, feedback from library staff overseeing the intern, and input from the South Central AHEC.

Specific Activities:

Gain experience with the MedlinePlus Go Local database of health service providers in South Texas. Responsibilities will include updating records and assisting with a mailing to each service provider.

Enhance consumer health information available at libraries. Assist in the review of the libraries’ consumer health collections, focusing on books and brochures/pamphlets.

Assist with trainings for community partners. Training events will likely focus on staff at public libraries, children attending summer camps organized by community-based organizations and/or community health workers/promotoras.

Provide support for service at the libraries’ circulation and reference desks.

Hours:

8:00-5:00 Monday ” Friday, with a one-hour lunch break each day

Supervision and Mentoring:

The intern will be supervised the Director for South Texas Regional Information Services, with supervision and mentoring also provided through (4) biweekly meetings with the Associate Director for Public Services and (2) monthly meetings with the Executive Director of Libraries.

Application Requirements:

Applications should be sent to Dr. Keith Cogdill (cogdillk@uthscsa.edu) by Friday, June 27, and should include:

Cover letter explaining interest in learning more about medical librarianship

Resume

Names and contact information for 3 references

Posted in South Texas, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News, Youth | Comments Off

Alamo Area Library System Diabetes Presentations

The Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville was the site of a recent diabetes information presentation held for the Alamo Area Library System (AALS). Six AALS libraries started hosting the presentations in March and the presentations are scheduled to conclude during the summer of 2011. The UT Health Science Center Libraries will be presenting programs in the AALS area as well as the South Texas Library System (STLS). Entitled Diabetes Information: How to Find Answers to Your Questions, the presentations are geared for a wide audience in order to promote access to reliable health information through sites such as MedlinePlus® and NIHSeniorHealth®. The Butt-Holdsworth presentation was the last event to take place in the library before the beginning of a major rennovation that will culminate with the library reopening in January of 2012.

Posted in Classes, News, South Texas, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

Briscoe Library Participates in the 2nd Annual San Antonio CHW/Promotor(a) Summit

Over 140 Community Health Workers (CHWs) attended the 2^nd Annual San Antonio CHW/Promotor(a) Summit held on June 8th. Community Health Workers, also known as Promotores, are widely recognized as a vital part of the public health workforce in part by providing health literacy training and patient navigation services to undeserved populations. Through the many roles played by CHWs, the health disparities that exist in many parts of our nation are more effectively addressed on a community level. Texas is only one of 2 states that currently offer certification programs for CHWs.

The UT Health Science Center Briscoe Library attended the summit to promote resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that support public health workers and health consumers alike with trusted health and research information. Peg Seger, Head of Outreach Services, and Patrick Lemelle, Outreach Library Assistant, provided demonstrations on MedlinePlus and PubMed while distributing and answering questions on many other NLM products and services. Of particular interest were the NLM Mobile Apps and Sites.

Earlier in the year, the Briscoe Library had collaborated with the University Health System CareLink program on a video in which the partnership between the library and the University Health System CareLink program was featured with a focus on the CareLink Patient Education Initiative: Using MedlinePlus Videos to Reach the Underserved. The CareLink Patient Education Initiative depends heavily on student interns from the Northwest Vista College Community Health Program in San Antonio. The video was played for summit attendees during a presentation by Rafael Maldonado, CareLink Education Director. This and a new MedlinePlus exhibit banner created quite a bit of additional interest in the use of NLM resources such as MedlinePlus.

Briscoe Library Outreach Services Assistant Patrick Lemelle and new MedlinePlus exhibit banner

Some Key Texas CHW Facts:

In the state of Texas, 280 individuals graduated from a DSHS-certified community health worker certification training program of at least 160 hours in 2011. A total of 53 instructors were newly certified…As of December 31, 2011, there were 1,583 community health workers, an increase of 37% as compared to 1,153 community health workers at the end of 2010. The number of Texas counties with at least one certified community health worker grew from 82 counties at the end of 2010 to 101 counties as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 23%. In the UT Health Science Center Libraries outreach services area, Hidalgo County has 153, Bexar 106, Cameron 98, Webb 25, Starr 7, and Willacy 0. Bexar county along with Webb, Hidalgo and Cameron are all locations for Promotor(a)/Community Health Worker Training & Certification Programs.

Texas Department of State Health Services, Community Health Workers – Promotor(a) or Community Health Worker Training and Certification Program. 2011 Annual Report: Promotor(a) or Community Health Worker Training and Certification Advisory Committee. Available at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/mch/chw/workforce.aspx . Accessed 6/15/12

Posted in Conferences, South Texas, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News, Websites | Comments Off

CLHIN Partners with San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

On January 10 library staff provided presentations for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, the newest member of the Circuit Librarian Health Information Network (CLHIN).

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is the public health agency responsible for providing public health programs in San Antonio and unincorporated areas of Bexar County. Services include health code enforcement, food inspections, immunizations, clinical services, environmental monitoring, disease control, health education, dental health, emergency preparedness and issuance of birth and death certificates to the public.

CLHIN is a circuit librarian service provided by the library since 1989 through contracts with hospitals, clinics and health agencies. The service is provided throughout south Texas. CLHIN offers literature searches with supporting documentation in response to information requests for decision making and clinical care among its member institutions.

Speaking about the partnership, Keith Cogdill of the UTHSCSA library said, “Metro Health makes many contributions to the health of the San Antonio community, and we’re delighted to have this opportunity to extend information services in support of the vital work they do.”

The meeting last week was arranged by Jacqueline Peery, a librarian working with Metro Health through the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund Fellowship, in order to present the range of services available to city health personnel through the CLHIN partnership. Approximately 20 Metro Health staff from a range of departments attended two presentations during the day and spoke with CLHIN librarians about mediated literature searches, interlibrary loan, and classes on resources such as WISER (Wireless Information Services for Emergency Responders).

The CLHIN team is excited to be working with Jacqueline and SAMHD, and look forward to a great year.

Posted in Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

Community Advisors

This morning the UT Health Science Center Libraries’ community advisors gathered by videoconference in Harlingen, Laredo and San Antonio. They represented a wide range of organizations, including Migrant Health Promotion, Gateway Community Clinic, Mercy Ministries, Texas A&M International University, Texas Health & Human Services Commission, Su Clinica Familiar, San Antonio Public Library, the Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics, University Health System – CareLink, and the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs).