Health Resource Center

The Health Resource Center at Griffin Hospital is an innovative community resource that offers a collection of easy to read and understand health and life-style related materials as well as access to the medical library used by physicians and health professionals for those who want to go further. It is a unique community lending library which provides an array of medical and health information, both traditional and alternative, so patients and their families can become better informed about their illness and can then make informed decisions about the various treatment options available to them. Anyone from the community can use the Health Resource Center to educate themselves on ways to enhance their well-being, prevent illness and play an active role in decisions about their lives and courses of treatment should they become ill.

This Center has easy access to medical information which may not be available in other community libraries,in language people outside the medical community can understand. It houses a collection of approximately 5,000 books, including consumer journals and over 150 medical journals and pre-selected journal articles arranged in files for easy retrieval. The easy access Planetree Classification System groups information into 10 basic categories: reference, promoting health/preventing disease,mental health/ illness/ substance use, therapies/treatments, body systems and diseases, life processes, health care consumerism, health care field, and animal health. Because of the extensive collection of health related materials, local public librarians have been referring residents to Griffin's Resource Center.

The Resource Center also gives users access to computer databases and CD-ROM products which provide comprehensive indexing and abstracts for over 160 periodicals relating to consumer health and indexing for over 3,200 journals. This section includes a series by the world renowned Mayo Clinic called The Total Heart, and a Family Health Book. These interactive computer series make learning about health, disease and the human anatomy easy, whether you're an expert user or a novice. Its graphical interface and extensive use of 3-D animation makes it easy to use and understand, and articulated illustrations help you visualize a condition or process. Simple audio effects, for example, let you hear the sounds of the heart just as though you were listening through a stethoscope. And you can print out what you see.

Geared toward the family, Griffin's Health Resource Center offers a children's section with a variety of health-oriented books, a special section on bereavement issues, audio cassette programs, videos and a private video viewing room. The children's section include titles like The Lion Who Had Asthma;Shelly, The Hyperactive Turtle; Ben's Baby, and more. A parenting section includes books like Parents Guide to Attention Deficit Disorders; Children with Special Needs;and Becoming A Step family.

The Health Resource Center is located in the main lobby of Griffin Hospital with satellite centers on each patient floor for patient and visitor use. Community members are invited to visit the Center at 130 Division Street in Derby, Connecticut which is open daily. The hours are Monday, Tuesday & Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and every Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call (203) 732-7399 for more information. Membership is free.

To request a free membership card or request information, e-mail the Resource Center at griflib@griffinhealth.org.