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South Carolinians log on to Go Local-SC

by Cindy Abole
Public Relations
A mother in Bamberg County just learned that her son was diagnosed with asthma and is seeking a Charleston area allergy specialist for a second opinion. An elderly farmer with progressive hearing loss seeks an auditory specialist in his hometown of Laurens. A Maryland man needs information about home health care services for his stroke-stricken mother living in Kingstree.
    
Each of these people share one thing in common: the need to locate and access specific medical and health care services in South Carolina.
 
Thanks to a new Web site, this has become easier.
 
Go Local-South Carolina (http://www.hohsc.org/golocal/) offers a quick, convenient way to find health resources and services throughout the state. The site is free and open to anyone; all that's needed is a computer with Internet access. South Carolina is one of only 15 states that have a statewide Go Local health services directory.
    
Go Local-SC is part of a national effort sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make health resources more accessible to the public. The project’s goal is to make it easier for people to learn what health services are available locally or in nearby communities that respond to their specific needs.
 
The Go Local-SC project complements another statewide consumer health program sponsored by the MUSC Library, Hands On Health-South Carolina (http://www.hohsc.org). Introduced in 2003, the Hands on Health-SC Web site is designed to help South Carolinians learn about all aspects of health and wellness. It covers many topics, but targets major health issues that affect South Carolina like asthma, heart disease, family violence, dental health, stroke, and diabetes.
    
“Finding resources for sound, reliable health care services is so important in a state like South Carolina where access to health care can be challenging, especially in rural communities,” said Nancy McKeehan, assistant director of libraries for systems, MUSC Library and program manager for Hands on Health-South Carolina (SC). She and Janice May, Hands on Health-SC program coordinator, are managing the project at MUSC. “It’s a reminder to us of our statewide mission of service to the people of South Carolina as a public resource. Our Medical Center and institution possess many areas of expertise, but we also value and support our strong partnerships with other local, regional and statewide health care providers.”
 
South Carolina’s Go Local project is a partnership of med-ical and public libraries.  The MUSC Library and the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine Library jointly manage the project.  
    
“We managed to get more than a third of South Carolina’s county library systems to sign up and support this effort without really seeing or testing the actual Go Local product,” McKeehan said, noting the resounding support and cooperation of public library partners. “Once they see Go Local in action, they’ll realize what a help it can be to their patrons and area libraries in general as a great service and marketing tool.”
 
From the beginning, both McKeehan and May have worked closely with the USC School of Medicine Library to plan and create Go Local-SC.
    
“We’re glad to be part of this project and know that our resources can be used as practical, supplemental information to our patrons,” said Roz McConnaughy, assistant director of education and outreach, USC School of Medicine Library. “It’s been great collaborating with both Janice and Nancy on this effort. We look forward to training other public librarians and library science students on this useful consumer health resource.”
 
It is reference librarian Jane Bunal’s job to help connect people to information. Bunal has worked in the Horry County Memorial Library in Myrtle Beach for nearly seven years and was invited to participate in MUSC Library’s Go Local-South Carolina training in late July.
 
“Once I heard about Go Local-South Carolina, I thought what a great idea and opportunity to build upon this important database and share this information with the public,” Bunal said. “Most patrons are health conscious anyway—seeing things on TV or following a doctor’s visit—and are seeking information. It’s a great idea for librarians to be familiar with these resources and even better when we can show patrons a convenient, easy way to obtain information.”
 
Go Local-South Carolina is easy to use. Visitors can search more than 150 categories of health services and providers, like community health and dental clinics, assisted living facilities, dialysis services, acupuncturists, genetic counselors, family physicians, and speech therapists. Or, you can choose to search by a health topic like Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, alcoholism, mammo-graphy, men’s health, and senior’s health issues. It’s as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Go to the Go Local-SC Web site (http://www.hohsc.org/golocal)
2. Select a topic, provider or service.
3. Choose your county on the map. A list of appropriate nearby health services will appear.
 
Go Local-SC includes location, phone numbers, a brief description of services, and a link to a Web site, if available, for each resource. Free or low-cost services, including those that take Medicaid, are indicated with an icon. The database continues to grow. Service providers are encouraged to use the contact us feature if they want to be included in Go Local-SC.
    
Regular maintenance of the database and other technical duties is the responsibility of McKeehan and May’s team. “This takes a tremendous amount of work. The program takes a commitment from people who have the capability of doing it right. It’s not a minor undertaking to make this happen,” said May.
   
“We hope the people of South Carolina will think first about using Go Local-South Carolina when they seek health services in their area,” McKeehan said. “The key will be to keep it current, comprehensive, correct.”

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.