OTs do it with a helping hand

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Along with minority health awareness, library workers, STDs and organ donation, April 2009 is also Occupational Therapy month.

Occupational therapy enables people of all ages live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, prevent?óÔé¼ÔÇØor live better with?óÔé¼ÔÇØinjury, illness, or disability. It is a practice deeply rooted in science and is evidence-based, meaning that the plan designed for each individual is supported by data, experience, and ?óÔé¼?ôbest practices?óÔé¼?Ø that have been developed and proven over time. (AOTA)

The 2009 OT Month theme is autism. The American Occupational Therapy Association provides some useful resources on autism at their site PromoteOT.org

Here at LSUHSC we have an active Department of Occupational Therapy. In 2008 OT students volunteered to rebuild houses in the Broadmoor area. You can find other newsworthy events from LSUHSC OTs on the department news page.

Classes in the Dental Library

Two classes on library resources will be taught in the dental library in April.

Classes will be held in the Library Conference Room from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Please email us or call 941-8158 to reserve your seat in any or all of these classes.
All dental school faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend. Feel free to bring your lunch.

Tuesday, April 21: Health Literacy Julie Schiavo
Learn how health literacy can affect the way you treat your patients. Health literacy is not just the ability to read health information; awareness of your patients?óÔé¼Ôäó literacy level can change how you communicate with them. This class is geared toward anyone involved in patient care.

Wednesday, April 22: RefWorks Liz Strother
RefWorks is a free web-based bibliography and database manager that allows you to create your own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases and other various sources. You can use these references in writing papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds.

Minority Health Awareness Month

April is a popular month for health observances, including National Minority Health Awareness Month sponsored by the US Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Minority Health. Preconception is the theme for 2009 with the slogan “Ordinary couples don?óÔé¼Ôäót plan their pregnancies. Be extraordinary!”

National Minority Health Month

USMLE Step 1 Practice Exams

Exam Master, a FREE USMLE testbank for LSUHSC students, announces a completely revised USMLE Step 1 Practice Exam. A wise L2 knows, you can never practice enough for this! First time users of ExamMaster will need to create a username and password:

http://www.exammaster2.com/wdsentry/lsuhsc.htm
More information

National Library Worker Day

Today is National Library Worker Day as declared by the ALA-APA (American Library Association-Allied Professional Association). It is a day for library staff, users, administrators and friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. So come by and give your favorite library worker a pat on the back.

Library Worker Day logo

Originally posted on April 4th, but it turns out I got the date wrong. National Library Worker Day is on April 14th this year.

April is STD Awareness Month

April is STD awareness month! That?óÔé¼Ôäós Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The CDC estimates that there are approximately 19 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.
Let?óÔé¼Ôäós look at how Louisiana is doing. (Reports from the CDC – STD Surveillance, 2007)

Chlamydia ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Mississippi: 21,686 Cases & a rate of 745.1 per 100,000 Population
2 Alaska:
3 South Carolina:
4 Alabama:
5 New Mexico:
6 Georgia:
7 Louisiana: 19,362 Cases & a rate of 451.6 per 100,000 Population
8 Tennessee:
9 Hawaii:
10 Illinois:

Gonorrhea ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Mississippi: 8,314 Cases & a rate of 285.7 per 100,000 Population
2 Louisiana: 11,137 Cases & a rate of 259.7 per 100,000 Population
3 South Carolina:
4 Alabama:
5 Georgia:

Primary and secondary syphilis ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ Reported cases and ranked by rates: United States, 2007
1 Louisiana: 533 Cases & a rate of 12.4 per 100,000 Population
2 Alabama: 380 Cases & a rate of 8.3 per 100,000
3 Georgia:
4 Maryland:
5 Tennessee:

April is National Donate Life Month

Did you know. . .
?óÔé¼?ó More than 98, 000 people are in need of an organ for transplant.
?óÔé¼?ó In 2007, nationally, 52,869 people were added to the organ waiting list. 905 of these cases were in Louisiana.
?óÔé¼?ó One organ donor has the power to save up to nine lives.

More interesting statistics are available.

Organ donation and procurement can be a confusing and overhwhelming topic so take a minute and learn the facts. The best way to raise awareness about organ donation is to talk about it with others.

Louisiana hospitals are setting a great example by jumping on board to increase Louisiana?óÔé¼Ôäós donor registry by the end of 2009.

Join Louisiana in making an effort to save a life! It’s easy.

Scratch that Itch!

Nature Neuroscience has released an advance online publication of a study that has been getting press in the popular media. The study identifies specialized cells in the spinal cord which seem to be involved in the sensations of itching and scratching.

**Easter Hours in the Libraries**

The Isché Library hours for Easter weekend are:

Dental Library Hours are:

Fire Alarm Testing Tuesday Night

The fire alarm contractor will be testing the speakers and strobes on Tuesday evening, April 7th in the Isché Library. Announcements will be made before testing begins.

Celebrate World Health Day

World Health Day (WHD) has been observed on April 7, since 1948 under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization .
This year?óÔé¼Ôäós theme, ?óÔé¼?ôSave lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies?óÔé¼?Ø, brings attention to the importance of health facilities and readiness of health workers during times of disasters.
Read more about WHD at: http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/whd/

Ische Elevator

The Isché Elevator went down this afternoon. We do not have timetable for its repair.
~Edited~ The Elevator was placed back in service on Monday, April 13th at 1:20 p.m.

PayPaw System Maintenance

Baton Rouge has scheduled today for PayPaw system maintenance. All systems that use PayPaw (photocopiers, printing, vending machines, etc.) will have sporadic outages today.

National Public Health Week

National Public Health Week is April 6 -12, 2009.

?óÔé¼?ó U.S. life expectancy reached a record high of 78.1 years but still ranks 46th (of industrialized nations).
?óÔé¼?ó Baton Rouge ranked 4th for AIDS case rates among the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2006; New Orleans ranked 8th.
?óÔé¼?ó Minorities experience a disproportionate burden of preventable disease, death, and disability compared with non-minorities.

All of us have the potential to greatly improve our population?óÔé¼Ôäós health. Join the National Public Health Week Organization and the American Public Health Association in promoting their campaign ?óÔé¼?ôBuilding the Foundation for a Healthy America?óÔé¼?Ø locally as well.

Commons Progress

Library Commons decorative screens

The decorative dividing screens went up late last week. Here’s a sneak peak. The Library Commons is projected to be open in June.   Thanks, Hanna for taking the pictures!     Library Commons decorative screens

Library Commons decorative screens