Library Notes

We reported in an earlier issue of Library Notes that Galter Health Sciences Library, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS), and Zipperer Project Management were awarded $40,000 from the National Library of Medicine to fund a pilot project to create partnerships among five health care institutions and five public libraries in Northern Illinois (see Galter Awarded Funding... in Library Notes, #34 (Fall 2004)). The resulting project, Partnering for Patient Empowerment through Consumer Awareness (PPECA), is in full swing!

Roxanne Goeltz, CAPS cofounder and patient safety advocate
Photo: Jim Brucker

To kickoff the project, a press conference was held in Dollie’s Corner on February 15. Project partners and representatives from many interested organizations attended the press conference including: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, The Medical Library Association, The Chicago Patient Safety Forum, Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region, Chicago Public Library, Schaumburg Township District Library, and Skokie Public Library. Attendees were clearly moved after hearing the compelling personal story of Roxanne Goeltz, CAPS cofounder and patient safety advocate, who described her interest in patient safety as a result of a family member's death. Community outreach began the following day with two presentations at Dixon Public Library. Chicago Public Library’s Bessie Coleman Branch was the site of the second community presentation. There are three sessions scheduled during April and May at public libraries in Schaumburg, Harvey, and Skokie. Please consider coming to one of these presentations to find out how you can improve your own safety as a patient or the safety of a loved one.

Linda Walton (foreground, right) and Lorri Zipperer (background, right) discuss the PPECA project with Carla Funk and Lynanne Feilen of the Medical Library Association
Photo: Jim Brucker

In addition to the local community events, Linda Walton, Associate Director of Galter Health Sciences Library, Lorri Zipperer of Zipperer Project Management, and Roxanne Goeltz have been invited to speak about PPECA at the 7th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress in Orlando at the beginning of May.

For more information on future events, please visit the PPECA site at http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/ppeca/index.htm.