Library program wins national award
The
Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) 2010
Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition’s Library Partnership won
the 2006 Health Information Award for Libraries from the U.S. National
Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) on May 3. 
Accepting the grand
prize plaque are from left Barbara Carlson, Beth Fitzsimmons, Joyce
Linnen, Marilyn Lance-Robb, Jacqueline Grant, Florence Linnen, Pastor
Carl Grant.Chosen from entries from across America, the REACH 2010 program was judged to be the best library program for encouraging healthy lifestyles and providing health information to citizens. The REACH 2010 library program was presented with a plaque and $20,000 for continuing and expanding its programs.
“Our library partnership brings together American community leaders from the faith community, rural community centers, diabetes advocacy groups, IT companies, librarians, and the REACH 2010 team to work on the common concerns of diabetes disparities and digital divide issues. We talk, listen, plan, and take actions together,” said Barbara Carlson, REACH 2010/MUSC health sciences librarian.
The program is the collaborative work of a library-community-campus partnership, which consists of MUSC’s College of Nursing (CON), the Department of Library Science and Informatics, Charleston County Public Libraries, Georgetown County Public Libraries, and community-based organizations.
The program expands Internet access at five community sites and uses libraries and the Internet to train African-Americans to locate high quality health information. J. Edward Hill, M.D., president of the American Medical Association, made the award presentation to Carlson and a delegation of the coalition’s leadership at a reception following the 2006 Libraries and Health Information Forum at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md.
Other REACH delegates in attendance were Florene Linnen, REACH 2010 community health advisor; Marlynn Lance-Robb, Georgetown Carver Bay Library Branch library manager; Rev. Carl Grant and wife Jacqueline, Greater St. Peters Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ; and Joyce Linnen, diabetes Internet trainer for Nazareth AME (African Methodist Episcopal) in Georgetown.
“Receiving this award is vitally important to each of us involved in this project. It reminds us that such outreach is needed in the community, especially our church community, ” said Grant. “So many people in our congregration suffer from diabetes and hypertension. Most can't access or afford proper care, while others don't possess the nowledge to improve their lifestyles.”
The REACH 2010 Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition, which guides the library program, aims to eliminate disparities for more than 12,000 blacks diagnosed with diabetes by improving self-management and care. The coalition is a group of community organizations and leaders that work towards reducing disparities among black South Carolinians with diabetes. The local coalition focuses on increasing community awareness, improving the quality of health care, and creating education opportunities for blacks with diabetes. MUSC College of Nursing professor Carolyn Jenkins, Dr.PH., is principal investigator for the local REACH coalition. Based in the CON and under the direction of the Diabetes Initiative of South Carolina, the local REACH coalition is one of 40 REACH programs nationwide, each specializing in a particular health disparity. The coalition is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the library program has the support from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
The REACH library program supports Internet access and volunteer Internet instructors at five community sites to help people find health information and learn technology skills. Program participants are encouraged to use the information to strengthen their communication with their health care providers, and to learn more about health issues from high quality, reliable resources such as MedlinePlus. Partners include Charleston County public librarians from the Johns Island Regional Library, Otranto Road Regional Library, Cooper River Branch, St. Paul’s Branch, and Georgetown County’s Main Library and its new Carvers Bay Library Branch.
Community leaders, librarians, and REACH staff collaborate as a steering committee to provide Internet access and training, improve diabetes collections in public libraries, produce posters and bookmarks, and raise the awareness of the importance of good quality health information. Representatives from the Wadmalaw Island Citizen Improvement Committee, Greater St. Peters Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Wiltown Community Center, Nazareth AME Church, and the Georgetown County Diabetes CORE Group engage local groups in these efforts.
The NCLIS Health Information Awards for Libraries are designed to encourage library programs that address one or more of the following: dietary choices; exercise; smoking cessation; alcohol and/or drug abuse prevention; immunizations and health screenings; and improved health literacy, that is the ability to understand and make use of health information. State winners were selected in each state, and from those, a panel of NCLIS commissioners selected 10 finalists. A panel of judges, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, M.D.; former Health Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano; and Hill, chose the South Carolina program as the best library program for health information distribution.
For information on REACH 2010 Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition and its library program, call 792-5872 or visit http://www.musc.edu/reach.
Friday, May 26, 2006
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