On being a Catalyst for Community Health

Melanie Newell is a C4CH (Catalyst for Community Health) Grantee at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and is a service associate in Lincoln City Libraries, in Lincoln, NE. C4CH (Catalysts for Community Health) is an Institute of Museum and Library Services Community Catalyst Project Grant initiative led by Dr. Jenny Bossaller and Dr. Denice Adkins of the University of Missouri’s iSchool, and Deborah Ward and Christine Pryor of MU Libraries and supported by an advisory board and one amazing graduate assistant. C4CH endeavors to use the talents of emerging LAM professionals to “spark” change in communities by bringing together existing ideas, energies, pieces and structures that when combined strengthen their impacts on communities. The support that we have is unmatched and allows us to make significant strides in our communities. I am so pleased to have the opportunity to brag about it here! Now that I am in my fourth semester of this unique program, I can’t imagine my library education without this special training and emphasis on community health, and yet I know that few of my peers are going to have the perspective of community health in their library career paths. This initiative makes me feel like a seed that is being planted in my community. Our specialized training has included emphasis on evaluating our communities for areas of high need in relation to health, health literacy, and access to health and healthcare. We have learned how to use consumer healt...
Source: MCR News - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: #CC/Academic List #Health Interest List #Health Sciences List #Public/K-12 List All Members Source Type: news