RML Staffing Changes

Hi all. It doesn't happen often but there are now many changes in the RML staff to report to you:

First and foremost, Sherri Fuller and I are very pleased to announce that Nancy Press will be taking on a new role as Consumer Health Information Coordinator. This is a new venture for RMLs, a new strategic direction for NLM, and Nancy is ideally suited to launch this initiative in our region.

In order to take on this new role, however, Nancy has to shed herself of the 2 jobs she has been juggling for the past 20 months. One of those jobs -- Acting Associate Director -- will be lifted from her when I return to the RML full-time at the beginning of the new year.

Meanwhile, Nancy Schaefer, a recent graduate of the UW library school, has been hired as a temporary network services librarian through 12/31. Nancy S. is primarily responsbile for the bulk of SERHOLD and DOCLINE functions that have been part of Nancy P's role.

Other developments of particular note:

o Chholing Taha is now dedicated for the coming year to the Harborview Medical Center-based EthnoMed project. See <http://healthlinks.washington.edu/clinical/ethnomed/> for more information. EthnoMed won outreach subcontract funding this year from the RML for further development.

o As of today, Linda Milgrom is off for a 1-year stay in Italy. But don't despair: Linda is retaining her e-mail address and she welcomes all kinds of good news ... and even guests.

o Friday, Sep. 3, is the last day on the job for our intrepid program coordinator, Perri Lynch. The good news is that Perri is beginning a graduate program at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. We wish her all success and look forward to welcoming her back to the northwest one day.

o As many of you know, Cathy Burroughs is nearing completion of a field manual for the planning and evaluation of health information outreach. This has been a major undertaking and the final product is eagerly awaited by NLM and the NN/LM communities. The production of the manual brings to a close the special outreach evaluation project. We are lucky that Cathy will remain with us as she assumes a new half-time role as evaluation consultant for all 8 RMLs nationally. The other half of Cathy's role in the next year will be involved with testing several applications of the field manual and evaluating the Tribal Connections project.

o Regarding Tribal Connections: under the lead of Roy Sahali, and assisted by virtually the entire RML staff, is closing in on the goal to connect 16 Native American/Alaskan Native communities to the Internet and train members of those communities in using networked health information resources. The initial phase will be completed by the end of this year.

The next phase of Tribal Connections will involve 4 more communities in 4 other NN/LM regions. Roy will take his community development expertise to the southwest, south central, midcontinental, and upper midwest regions. This will extend through the end of 2000.

That's the big stuff and enough for now. Please let me or Nancy Press know if you have any questions.

Neil Rambo
University of Washington
206-616-3472

originally posted to hlip-nw, 9-1-99, by Neil Rambo

Friends and colleagues,

I will be leaving Evergreen Hospital in the beginning of December. My last day will be Dec 3. At this point, I don't know what the staffing level at Evergreen will be. It is very possible that I will be replaced with a library technician. As soon as I find out, I will let this group know if
there are any employment opportunities.

I don't know how DOCLINE requests will be handled after I am gone. I hope to train a temporary replacement before I go that will be able to accommodate your requests. If not, I will send a message warning people from sending requests to Evergreen.

I am leaving Evergreen voluntarily to work for a small (but growing) biotech company. Their information needs are great and I think it will be a really interesting change. I don't have contact information at this point--but this email address will always be the best way to contact me.

Please feel free to contact me privately if you have any questions. I would like to thank all of you for the help that you have given me. The Medical Library community in this area (and it IS a community) has shown me the true meaning of collaboration. The rest of the library and even
health world could learn a few things from us.

Bill Gembala
Evergreen Hospital Medical Library
originally submitted to hlib-nw, 11-15-99, by William Gembala