Free Consumer Health Class

Learn how to search for quality health information at a free workshop to be held at the Ainsworth Public Library on September 19^th at1:30 p.m.  This session, which is open to the public, are led by medical librarians from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) and the National Library of Medicine.  These sessions are part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) through the Nebraska Library Commission.

“Increasing access to consumer health information leads to better informed consumers,” and Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., director of the McGoogan Library of Medicine at UNMC.

The training sessions will enable citizens to make better informed decisions regarding their family’s health care requirements, she said, adding that these services have an economic impact because they are delivered at no cost through the CHIRS program at the McGoogan Library of Medicine and its library partners across the state.

“CHIRS provides the most current, reliable information available and is a great service that most people are unaware of.  We hope to change that through these workshops,” Dr. Woelfl said.

A total of 21 communities across the state will be holding this workshop from Sept. 18^th to October 5^th.  “We are so happy to be able to offer this hands-on session for our community at our library” said Gail Irwin, Director of the Ainsworth Public Library. “We are excited to share information on how to search for health information and how to evaluate health information sites available on the Internet.  Every family goes through a medical crisis at some point in time. It may be a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt, a cousin, a spouse or sibling, or even your child.  This workshop will help you deal with your health situation and give you knowledge on where to turn to for accurate information so you can make the best medical decision.”

This project is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Commerce national Telecommunications and Information Administration BTOP.  Additional funding is provided by the American Recover and Reinvestment Act and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.