Making the World a Better Place - Touro College

The Right Touch
The Touro-Harlem Medical Library
Receives a Federal Grant to Improve its Resources
Gone are the days of paper files and other archaic means of keeping
track of patient histories and visits. Reflecting the medical field’s
improvement via technological advances, students and faculty at
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) and Touro College of
Pharmacy now have access to 15 iPads and accessories, thanks to a
$10,000 grant from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes
of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Touro students with new iPads at Touro–Harlem
Medical Library.
Received by the Touro-Harlem Medical
Library, the grant will enhance student
learning and community outreach through
technology. The tablets will be used to
educate students on how portable devices
can provide better patient care during
internships and practice experiences.
“We are extremely grateful for this
grant, which will enable us to offer more
services to students, faculty and the
community,” says Shelly Warwick, Ph.D.,
director of the Touro-Harlem Medical Library,
which opened in 2007 and supports the
curriculum and research goals of Touro’s
medical and pharmacy schools. “The
technology will help us attract more
community members to our health information
literacy activities and promote learning.”
The library will create a configuration of
apps for use with the iPads, allowing
students to access library resources, health
literacy tutorials and apps that support their
studies. Students will have the option of
testing apps before downloading them. Also,
students will be trained to use the materials
and present them in community settings,
such as at health fairs, and at Touro’s health
clinic in Harlem, where patients will be able
to watch educational videos and tutorials
while visiting the clinic.
“With these new tablets, any room can be
converted into a classroom for health
information literacy, using downloaded files
and tutorials,” Dr. Warwick says. n
Last August, John Palmer,
Ph.D., was named director
of community affairs at the
Touro College of Osteopathic
Medicine (TouroCOM),
bringing with him more
than 20 years of experience
working in the health care
field as a senior level
executive for a variety of
organizations serving Harlem
and New York City at large. In
his new position, Dr. Palmer
is developing partnerships
with key community
stakeholders and promoting
the achievements of
faculty, staff and students
as they help carry out
the mission of TouroCOM,
a hallmark of which is
community engagement.
TOURO LINKS I SPRING 2013 27