Heywood Hospital Recognized During National Medical Librarians Month

Oct. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Gardner, MA – The Health Sciences Library and the Social Services Department at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, MA have been recognized by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), a division of the National Institutes of Health, during National Medical Librarian Month. The NLM chose only a select number of innovative educational and research projects from hospital medical libraries throughout the nation to be featured this month on their web site. Highlighted under the New England Region is Heywood Hospital, along with two other medical libraries in the area.

The joint education project, for which Heywood Hospital has been recognized, is focused on improving the health status of residents by sharing health education information and resources in partnership with other community agencies.

“We are honored to be featured among the leading medical libraries in the country on the National Library of Medicine’s web site,” said Win Brown, president and CEO of Heywood Hospital. “The innovation and commitment shown by our Social Services Department and partnering agencies in collaboration with our Health Sciences Library, demonstrates their dedication to our community and their commitment to improving the health of the residents of greater Gardner.”

A pre-project survey revealed a need to raise awareness of community and web-based health resources and methods to evaluate them.  Specific goals were created to establish Heywood’s Health Sciences Library as a community resource for health information needs, to teach evaluation skills for health information websites and to introduce several quality websites, such as MedlinePlus.

In collaboration with the Greater Gardner Religious Council, Heywood Hospital's Health Sciences Library and Social Services Department embarked on a community outreach project to provide education to various faith-based communities in the area.  

In addition, through partnerships with a total of eight different community agencies and four internal departments, Heywood’s Health Sciences Library program entitled Finding Reliable Answers to Your Health-Related Questions was presented at 14 venues and provided education to 118 community members.

According to post survey results, the project, which was funded by the NLM’s Express Outreach Award, successfully accomplished its objectives.  In addition to providing education to community members, the project enhanced in-house relationships, developed community partnerships, and contributed to Heywood Hospital’s overall mission.  

To learn more about National Medical Librarians Month, Heywood Hospital’s featured project and the 6,014 NLM member organizations nationwide, visit the NLM web site at www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles11 or the Heywood Hospital web site at www.heywood.org

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Heywood Hospital is an independent, community-oriented, non-profit 134-bed acute-care hospital located in Gardner, MA. Heywood Hospital provides a broad range of high quality medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric, transitional care and behavioral health services on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Our Centers of Excellence include the Watkins Center for Emergency and Acute Care; the LaChance Maternity Center; and the Heywood Heart Center, an affiliate of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence at UMass Memorial Health Care. In addition to the main campus, Heywood Hospital has two satellite facilities, the Winchendon Health Center in Winchendon and the Heywood Rehab Center in Gardner, as well as a number of primary care practices in the region. Heywood Hospital also operates a school-based health center, the Murdock Health Center at the Murdock Middle High School in Winchendon.