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Winter/Spring 2017
Tuality Healthcare librarian keeps others up-to-date on health information
For 23 years, Judith Hayes has served as medical librarian
for Tuality Healthcare, which has a clinical library for
providers and a public library as part of the Washington
County Library system.
Hayes not only helps the public find health information,
but also serves as a mentor and teacher to other librarians.
Her class “Finding Health Information Online,” which she
has taught for 15 years, educates librarians throughout
Washington County on how to provide medical information
to the community.
Librarians deal with challenges finding increasingly complex
and technical health information for the public. “We don’t
get those easy health questions anymore. People can find
answers to easy questions online,” said Hayes. “So questions
are getting harder.”
Patrons seek information on numerous topics, including
diabetes, childbirth, complex trauma issues, and information
about specific providers. Librarians today have to be equipped
with skills to promptly assist people seeking complicated
health literature.
With the internet, everyone can access general information
immediately. Librarians struggle to keep up with the demand
for information when it comes to more technical material
located in medical journals. Another issue is the expectation
to have information available immediately.
“One of my quality markers is timeliness,” Hayes said. “I try to
get an answer in 24 hours.”
Judith teaches the class, but also serves as a resource for
librarians any time they need assistance finding health
information. “I receive calls from librarians needing help
finding things,” Hayes said. “Go see Judith; here is her phone
number, go call Judith. Or they will call from their desk while
a patron is waiting.”
Judith customizes her class based on questions she receives
from librarians. She also assists libraries with updating their
health reference collections, which happens frequently due to
the changing nature of the medical field.
“Everything updates. You don’t want to give someone older
information,” Hayes said. “If the copyright is more than five
years old, you have to think hard about keeping that item in
the collection. It might be outdated.”
Judith reads current medical journals to keep up with recent
health trends.
Currently, Tuality has roughly 30 print and 2,000 online
journals, and a large collection of general health reference
materials. Reference librarians from eight of the 15 public
libraries in Washington County attended a class held in
March 2016. As the public seeks out more health information,
her skills will be in even more demand as librarians tackle
more complex and challenging reference questions.
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Adams is among a dozen regular volunteers from St. Edward’s
Catholic Church who run the food pantry. Not only does he
order all the food from Linn-Benton Food Share, but he also
helps to unload, stock and distribute it.
One time in their distribution, there were several large cans of
escargot. Adams wasn’t sure what to do with the cooked snail,
so he asked each recipient if they liked it. Most people said no.
“One woman said she loved it, so I gave her the rest,” Adams
recalled. Another time, a grocery store ordered too many
bananas, and the pantry ended up with 1,200 pounds. Adams
knew they wouldn’t keep another week, so they contacted
other area food programs and shared their banana bounty.
The food pantry strives to be attentive to the needs of the
people it serves, said its bookkeeper Bernadette Ferraro. Most
of the people who access the food boxes are single parents,
people who are unemployed or underemployed, seniors and
people with disabilities and those who are homeless.
A typical food box feeds four people, including children who
need nutritious food to grow.
“We do milk for kids, canned vegetables, pasta and peanut
butter,” she said. “It’s not just a block of cheese.”
The agency is also able to provide appropriate food for people
with diabetes and other dietary restrictions or food allergies.
Families can receive a three-day emergency food box once
a month, but they can come every week for fresh fruits and
vegetables.
Volunteers also collect food donated by local grocers to
expand their offerings. Ferraro said someone once asked if
she had any cake for a child’s birthday. Among the donated
items from a bakery, there was a cake!
“We have lots of stories,” Ferraro said.
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SPECIAL SECTION: A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
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