REACH: Resources, Education, and Access for Community Health

In the Show Low, AZ, region there are barriers in receiving relevant, factual information that relates to overall health and wellness. Those barriers primarily exist due to a lack of internet connectivity, access to computers or mobile devices or lack of knowledge on where to find relevant health information. Show Low Public Library proposes to provide solutions to these barriers by: providing a health information kiosk with access to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine resources along with other quality health information resources in the library next to our Healthy Living Section, along with several mobile iPad kiosks to use in our existing outreach programs. We also propose to elevate our Healthy Living program by increasing services in outreach to include additional health and wellness programs. We currently visit two assisted living/memory care facilities monthly and provide memory care activities to residents. As part of the REACH project, our library will be able to extend the services we currently offer to include using the kiosks to help residents access information, provide more interactive activities to help increase stimulation both mentally and physically, and to educate caregivers. We anticipate that there will be 10,000 to 12,000 kiosk users during the project period. The goal of this project is to provide resources, education and access to the Show Low community that currently are not available in the areas that we are targeting e.g., assisted living facilities. Adding a dedicated information kiosk to the library would make access to information easier and more convenient. Moreover, having mobile kiosks at assisted living facilities would provide a much-needed service to an audience that currently does not receive it. Our objective is to provide a more well-rounded program that includes technology, information access and interaction regarding health, emotional and physical well-being. NLM resources to be highlighted during the project include MedlinePlus and resources featured in the Food for Thought NNLM course.