Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation is leading a two-year project that unleashes the skills and talents of public librarians to advance health equity among residents of Greater Middlesex County. This project mobilizes a grassroots health literacy initiative called Just for the Health of It created by the East Brunswick Public Library, a single branch public library in central New Jersey. With its multi-sector Healthier Middlesex coalition partners, the Foundation is deploying the Just for the Health of It initiative in communities throughout the county based on each community’s health literacy needs. By engaging librarians who represent Information Services, Adult Services, and Youth/Teen services, Healthier Middlesex is creating a sustainable network of mobile, trained library personnel with the capacity to provide valuable information regarding chronic conditions and more complex questions to residents of all ages seeking to make well-informed health decisions.
Project
Grant Recipient
Contacts
Camilla Comer-Carruthers
Manager, Community Health Education
(732) 846-0131
Karen Parry
Manager of Information Services
(732) 390-6950
All In Data for Community Health Publication Collects Stories of Challenges & Achievements in Cross-sector Data Sharing Initiatives From Middlesex County and Across the Country
August 31, 2020 – The All In: Data for Community Health Network published “What We Learned From the First Wave,” featuring articles from BUILD Health Challenge, Pew Charitable Trust Health Impact Project, Population Health Innovation Lab, The Public Health National Center for Innovations, Network for Public Health Law, New Jersey Health Initiatives and Data Across Sectors for Health. The publication functions as a time capsule documenting the last 29 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and a tactical manual with tips and tools for public health data-sharing during the pandemic. Articles profiling the Healthier Middlesex collaborative’s work, public health departments in Navajo Nation, Minneapolis during the Black Lives Matter protests, Housing Displacements in California, and Tenant Advocacy projects throughout the nation are featured in this publication.
Follow the latest news coverage about this work:
Libraries Join the Fight against Health Inequity
NJ Spotlight News (2022, October 20).
Op-Ed: Libraries Play Key Role in a Healthy NJ
NJ Spotlight News. September 26, 2022.
East Brunswick Library, Saint Peter’s University Hospital Collaborate on ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ Program Series
Central Jersey.com (2020, September 15).
NJ Biz. (2018, December 3).