WHAT: A series of consumer health presentations including a demonstration of new Oregon Health Go Local Web site, a national database linking patients to health services, facilities and resources in their own communities. Other presentations will inform residents about additional health resources available at Samaritan Albany General Hospital's Stanley K. Davis Library and resources available to the public from the Samaritan Cancer Resource Center.
WHEN: July 28, 1 – 3 p.m.
WHERE: Samaritan Albany General Hospital, 1046 Sixth Avenue SW, Albany, Oregon
DETAILS: Oregon Health Go Local (www.medlineplus.gov/oregon) provides Oregonians with information about health care services and facilities across the entire state. Following official launch of the Web site this spring, OHSU representatives now are traveling the state to introduce patients and providers to this new resource.
The purpose of the free database is to link those searching for health information with specialized health care services within or near their own communities. The database includes hospitals, health clinics, government agencies, support groups, libraries, nonprofit service organizations and many more. It also interfaces with MedlinePlus®, easy-to-read and reliable consumer health information compiled by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
Having all of this information on a series of integrated Web sites allows visitors to learn about a particular health condition and then find local clinics and health service agencies that specialize in treating or providing services related to the disease or disorder all within a few mouse clicks.
Locating health care close to home is becoming more difficult in communities across Oregon and the rest of the country due to a nationwide shortage of providers. Oregon Health Go Local helps to solve that problem by alerting residents to nearby services they otherwise may not have been aware of.
Oregon Health Go Local was created through funding to the OHSU Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered through the Oregon State Library, and with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. With these funds, library staffers located and catalogued health services across the state. This online information is organized so that navigation is easy and fast. The site allows visitors to look for information in a variety of ways. They can search by location by clicking on a county-by-county map of the state. Visitors can also search by the type of provider or service, by disease or health issue or they can simply search for health information in the MedlinePlus database.
For more information about Oregon Health Go Local, visit www.medlineplus.gov/oregon.
More information about MedlinePlus can be found at www.medlineplus.gov.
About OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is the state's only health and research university and Oregon's only academic health center. OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government). OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support activities not found anywhere else in the state. It serves patients from every corner of the state, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to every county in the state.