Sladen's New Health Care Equity Toolkit

Henry Ford Health System is in the midst of a three-year campaign to increase awareness of health care equity. The basis for the campaign is PBS’s 7-part documentary “Unnatural Causes – Is Inequity Making Us Sick?” which highlights how social, economic, and demographic status can and does affect an individual’s health and access to quality healthcare. This documentary can be viewed in its entirety on HFHS University. In addition, there are several other HFHS University courses and CME events on the subject of Cultural Competence.

The Sladen Library has just created a Health Care Equity Toolkit which gathers together dozens of resources on the subject of health care equity to support the corporate initiative. The toolkit is located at http://www.henryfordconnect.com/sladen.cfm?id=1153, and is the perfect one-stop web page for everything you need to know about health care equity.

In addition to links for the HFHS University and CME courses mentioned above, the toolkit also contains internet resources on the social determinants of health, healthcare disparities, and cultural competency. The Sladen Library’s books and journals on the subject are also included. Look for relevant journal articles to be added in the near future. – Valerie Reid, MLIS

Everyone is Using the Library. Are You?

October is National Medical Libraries Month! Celebrate with the Sladen Library by visiting us in person or checking out the many quality resources available via the library website.

Help Us Test Out DynaMed - An Evidence-Based Clinical Reference Tool

Throughout the month of September the library is running a free trial of DynaMed.  DynaMed is an evidence-based, point-of-care, clinical reference tool similar to products like UpToDate and First Consult.  DynaMed is updated daily using the most current literature and a systematic literature surveillance process to locate the best evidence. 

Here are a few of DynaMed’s key features:

• Currently contains over 3000 disease, condition, and drug topics
• Easy keyword, alphabetical browse, or category search
• Dated content updates are listed at the top of each summary
• Easy navigation to key sections of each summary such as treatment and diagnosis
• Uses a 7-step editorial process for determining best evidence
• Clear “level of evidence” labeling
• Summaries include relevant ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes

Please try out DynaMed today, and then let us know what you think by filling out our short survey!

Check Out Our New Books!

These are some of the books that have recently been added to our circulating collection. For a complete listing of new materials, visit the New Materials webpage or browse the online catalog.

Critical Care Nursing Certification: Preparation, Review, and Practice Exams 6th edition, Thomas Ahrens, 2010.

Invasive Cardiology: A Manual for Cath Lab Personnel 3rd edition, Sandy Watson RN, 2011.

Netter’s Orthopaedic Clinical Examination: An Evidence-Based Approach 2nd edition, Joshua Cleland, 2011.

Neuroradiology: The Requisites 3rd edition, David M. Yousem, 2010.

Radiology Secrets Plus 3rd edition, E. Scott Pretorius, 2011.

USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills Triage: A Guide to Honing Clinical Skills, Kevin Schwechten, 2010.

Visual Guide to Musculoskeletal Tumors: A Clinical, Radiologic, Histologic Approach, Felasfa M. Wodajo, 2010.

From the Conrad R. Lam Archives

Halloween Party in the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Pediatrics, c.1930s.

The care of children at Henry Ford Hospital began early in 1918 under Dr. John Chalmers Montgomery. The Department of Pediatrics was later established by Dr. Irvine McQuarrie in 1927. During the depression years, Henry Ford Hospital collaborated with many Michigan social service agencies to aid families and their children in need. The hospital hosted $1.00 pediatric examinations, an adjunct school, physical therapy and many special events, such as the annual Halloween celebration for the Pediatric patients and staff members.

The colorful event was held either in the hospital rooftop solarium or in the open porches of the Pediatric department. The nurses transformed the wards into a Halloween gala with decorations of cornstalks, decorated pumpkins and autumnal floral arrangements of mums and marigolds. The children were dressed in costumes, often created out of hospital linens and treated to a feast of candied apples and sweets specially created by the hospital bakery. The highlight of the party was the magic show by the staff magician, Arthur Whelpy, who also worked as the Chief Dental Technician in the 1930's. – Melanie Bazil, Senior Archivist

Need Medical Calculators? Try MedCalc 3000 from Stat!Ref

MedCalc 3000 from Stat!Ref offers a variety of interactive medical calculators, equations, and decision trees for the busy healthcare professional.  To access MedCalc 3000 go to Stat!Ref and click on the Resources tab.  Then click on MedCalc 3000.  Tools are organized under the following headings:  Unit & Dose Converter, Math Calculator, Equations, Multicalcs, Clinical Criteria, Decision Trees, and Specialty Pages.  For example, under Unit & Dose Converter, you will find calculators on Area Unit Conversions, Basic Unit Conversions, Benzodiazepine Dosing Conversions, and others.  You can also search MedCalc 3000 for calculators.  For example, if you search under the term “heparin” you get the result “Unstable Angina and Tirofiban Benefit Prediction."  Again, the calculators are interactive and easy to use.  Give MedCalc a try! – Gina Hug, MLIS

WebWISER - Mobile Information for First Responders

The National Library of Medicine developed the WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) system for emergency or disaster first responders to provide support information on hazardous substances, including chemical identification, physical characteristics, human health data, and containment and suppression information. WebWISER is the version for the Web and there is now a version available for iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid devices.  This wireless technology for mobile devices has proven to be an invaluable decision making tool for first responders, including Hazmat Specialists and EMS personnel. – Barbara LeTarte, MLIS