Region 5 Funding in Action

Posted by Kathryn Vela on March 9th, 2026 Posted in: Funding
Tags: community, community outreach, Funding, grant funding, health information, mental health

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One of the main pillars of the Network of the National Library of Medicine is distributing funding to member organizations for projects that support health literacy, advance health equity, improve access to health information, increase engagement with research and data, expand professional knowledge, or promote awareness and use of NLM resources in local communities.

Since 2021, Region 5 has funded 106 awards that total $636,041. These awards have supported a wide array of innovative projects and professional achievements that reach every state and territory in Region 5. We are immensely proud of what these projects have accomplished in their communities!

Here are a few examples of some funded projects that were completed over the last five years:

Rural Access to Health Information: Training Community Health Navigators in Northern California to Expand Access to Virtual Health Information Tools (California State University, Chico)

This project aimed to increase access to health information for families in rural northern California by providing virtual and in-person training to community health navigators on how to use MedlinePlus. Through the workshops and follow-up trainings, the project team improved awareness of MedlinePlus among community health navigators and access to biomedical information in this rural region.  The health information awareness and navigation skills provided by this project were enthusiastically received, as they taught community health navigators how to use resources such as MedlinePlus to provide easily understandable consumer health information in their native languages to people in remote, financially impoverished areas.

“#GetCarded for Health” (Las Vegas-Clark County Library District)

This initiative gathered existing and new health and wellness-based programming, expanded online resources in the medical database, and sponsored health and wellness presentations. The objective was to promote healthy lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise and proper nutrition. The presentations held as part of the program have not only encouraged community members to sign up for Library cards but have also helped to raise the visibility of partner organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Nevada Donor Network, Empower, and AARP. Moreover, the #GetCarded for Health events, which drew a remarkable turnout, have been highly successful in promoting the Library District’s mission to nurture the social, economic, and educational well-being of people and communities.

“Community Partnerships to Address Mental Health Literacy and Stigma in Rural Northeastern Washington” (Washington State University Spokane)

The goal of this project was to improve mental health among adolescents and to reduce stigma regarding mental illness in rural Northeastern Washington State. This was accomplished by offering the NLM “Graphic Medicine and Mental Health” course to 30 school youth in rural Washington, holding online creative journal sessions, and conducting a state-wide survey of school librarians to understand the barriers and facilitators to offering the NLM “Graphic Medicine and Mental Health” course in their schools.

These are just a few examples of the wonderfully creative projects carried out by our Region 5 members. You can view all past projects on the Past Funded Projects page of the NNLM website.