Wayne State University Receives NNLM All of Us Ambassador Award

Posted by Darlene Kaskie on September 12th, 2019 Posted in: All of Us, Blog, Consumer Health, From the GMR, Funding, News from the Region, NNLM All of Us Ambassador Award, Partner Outreach Libraries, Public Libraries, Success Stories

The Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) has announced the Wayne State University Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library as an award recipient of the 2019-2020 NNLM All of Us Ambassador Program. Funding for this program is the result of a partnership between the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and All of Us, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research program that seeks to enroll one million or more people living in the United States to accelerate breakthroughs in precision medicine and to advance treatment and prevention.

LaVentra E. Danquah, Librarian IV – Principal Investigator/Project Director, Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library, Wayne State University

The Wayne State University Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library will receive up to $100,000 to create a community of health information advocates throughout Detroit. “Rooted in health literacy, health citizenship, and patient advocacy, health information advocates use information strategically to advance their health towards an intended goal,” notes LaVentra E. Danquah, librarian and principal investigator for the grant awarded to Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library. Soon, LaVentra will work with new and long-term partners to offer Detroiters various educational offerings while building awareness of the NIH All of Us Research Program, a precision medicine initiative. A portion of the award will fund a part-time project assistant who will help develop training and informational sessions for the Detroit Public Library, Michigan’s largest public library system. The grant will enable Shiffman Medical Library and its partners to continue to enrich the lives of the community with access to key health information deemed important by the community.

Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library has served the health information needs of metro Detroiters for well over 20-years including ten years as a Partner Outreach Library for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region (NNLM GMR). Working with a dedicated and exemplary Library Outreach Advisory Council, Shiffman Medical Library has a reputation of offering content-rich programs on local health issues featuring leading health and medical experts. “Shiffman library is extremely excited by this opportunity to collaborate with the NNLM in bringing unique educational programming to southeast Michigan. The All of Us grant will be instrumental in helping us achieve our goal of developing informed health citizens in our diverse communities,” states Sandra I. Martin, Library Director, Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library.

Learn more about the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the All of Us Research Program partnership at https://nnlm.gov/all-of-us.

ABOUT Darlene Kaskie
Darlene Kaskie, M.L.S. is Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist for Region 6 of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. She connects communities to training, engagement, and funding to improve access to health information and NLM Resources such as MedlinePlus. Advancing health literacy and digital skills training helps people make informed decisions about their health. She earned her Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) from the Medical Library Association.

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