June/July 2008 Oregon Health Go Local E-Newsletter
From the Principal Investigator
National Public Radio’s Think Out Loud program recently aired a segment titled “No Doctor in the House” which chronicled Oregon’s physician shortage and the challenges this causes for rural communities across the state. The story mentioned that “John Day has lost three of their six family physicians in the last nine months and that individuals in Reedsport “have to drive 40 miles to Coos bay to have a doctor deliver a baby.” The continuation of this trend is making it more difficult for rural Oregonians to locate convenient and appropriate care. Oregon Health Go Local will play a significant role in helping Oregonians figure out where they can go to get appropriate care.
Oregon Health Go Local will be a web-based statewide directory of health service providers. One unique and very exciting component of the project will be its integration with MedlinePlus health topics. Individuals will be able to use Medline to find current and authoritative information about hundreds of health topics in English and Spanish. They will then be able to seamlessly link to community health services related to their health topic. If you’d like to make a contribution to this project and are interested in helping to connect health service providers in your community with Medline Plus health topics we could use your assistance and would like to talk with you.
The development of Oregon Health Go Local is underway and I’m more excited about the project now than I have ever been. We’ve spoken with people from all over the state who represent a wide variety of organizations and virtually everyone has been uniformly enthusiastic about the value of Oregon Health Go Local. We hope to harness this excitement by developing partnerships with organizations and individuals. If you have or know of data about providers of health services in your community, please get in touch with Oregon Health Go Local’s Project Director, Emily Ford by phone (503.494.3915) or e-mail (fordem@ohsu.edu). The project is slated to go live later this year.
Todd Hannon
Oregon Health Go Local
Principal Investigator
Milestones
Oregon Health Go Local is at 2,253 records and counting!
In the past few months our database has boomed as we have received data and help from the following individuals and organizations:
- Meg McCauley, Resource Development Director, Oregon Hospice Association.
Check out their registry: http://www.oregonhospice.org - Nancy Morrell, National Library of Medicine
From the National Library of Medicine’s web site you can view directories of Medicare and Medicaid providers. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ - Emerson Ong, Data Coordinator, Oregon Office of Rural Health
The Oregon Office of Rural Health has an “information clearinghouse” providing valuable public health information to the public. It includes data regarding the physician workforce, physician scarcity, and more. You can find it at: http://www.ohsu.edu/oregonruralhealth/data - Laura Kuperstein, Oregon SafeNet Coordinator, 211info
Oregon SafeNet’s web site is a great place to find information: http://www.oregonsafenet.org
Emily Ford, Oregon Health Go Local Project Director, presented the project to Emporia State University School of Library Science Portland Cohort students in June.
Volunteer Training
It’s official! Volunteer training for Oregon Health Go Local has begun and so far we have librarians, library staff and library school student volunteers learning the ins and the outs of using the Go Local input system, the taxonomy, and putting those indexing and abstracting skills to work.
Here’s what some of them say about it:
“I am excited to be part of the Oregon Health Go Local project because I feel this is a great way for me to get some experience in the field while doing something that will have lasting value for my community.” –Erica
“I think Go Local will offer a much-needed resource that will prove to be invaluable.” –Joan
“Access to health care and health information are very important, but all too often there are significant barriers to that access. I am really happy that I can be part of a project that opens access to more people by providing a centralized resource directory.” –Terra
If you want to volunteer by either identifying resources for Oregon Health Go Local and/or to index resources in Oregon Health Go Local please contact Emily Ford at fordem@ohsu.edu. She’s particularly looking for volunteers in Southern, Eastern, and Central Oregon!
Looking Ahead
As Oregon Health Go Local moves forward, we keep doing new things. Below find some of our planned promotional and work activities. If you know of an activity we should know about, please let us know by e-mailing Emily Ford at fordem@ohsu.edu.
September:
- Oregon Health Go Local will be exhibiting at the Oregon Rural Health Conference in Bend. If you’re there please stop by and say hello!
- Todd Hannon and Emily Ford will be traveling to Prineville to present to the Libraries of Eastern Oregon group.
October:
- Oregon Health Go Local will be at the Oregon Public Health Association Conference in Corvallis.
- We will be exhibiting at the National Pace Association Conference in Portland alongside the National Library of Medicine.
Additional Thanks
Oregon Health Go Local also wants to extend appreciation to the following individuals and agencies:
- Tracy Gratto, The Coalition of Community Health Clinics
http://www.coalitionclinics.org - Judy Giggy, Seniors and People with Physical Disabilities
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/spwpd/index.shtml - Tom Engle, Oregon Public Health
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ - Matthew Tschabold, Commission on Children and Families
http://www.oregon.gov/OCCF/index.shtml - Joel Young, Oregon Public Health
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ - Paul McGinnis, Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network
http://www.ohsu.edu/research/orprn/index.html - Nita Heimann, Oregon Public Health
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ - Peggy Kennerly, Douglas County Public Health Department
http://www.co.douglas.or.us/dch/
