"The training was excellent," says Andre Hines, manager of grants and contracts at Circle Family Care Center, located on West Division. "Our staff members do research on Medline, send e-mail, and keep up-to-date in their fields. It has given our Early Intervention Program extensive access to HIV/AIDS information. Overall, it has helped us grow."

Telleen launched her project in 1996 with the goal of bringing resources from the university to the Community Health Centers and involving SPH students and faculty in the process. She and Elaine Martin, then director of the UIC’s Library of the Health Sciences, applied for and received funding from the Great Cities Institute, a UIC initiative to create, share, and apply new knowledge that addresses the needs of Chicago and urban centers internationally, for a grant to identify the centers’ technological needs. Focus groups for administrators, nurses, and physicians revealed a need for Internet conductivity, computers, computer software, and training in technology.

A technology day for center personnel attracted nearly 150 people. They were introduced to a range of software including electronic patient records and to clinical and medical information available through the Internet.

Next, Telleen applied for and received funding from the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions to support her "Academic Community Partnerships" project from 1997 to 2000. Money from the National Library of Medicine purchased computers for five centers selected by the Illinois Primary Health Care Association.

Javier Crespo, assistant information services librarian, installed the computers and trained the centers’ professional staff members. He and other trainers visited each site at least once a month for six months. Visits included both group and one-on-one training.

"I taught them how to access information and citations through the Medline data base as well as how to search for and evaluate consumer health information available on the Web," Crespo says.

The computer has made a tremendous difference at the Altgeld Health Center on East 130th Street._"Our doctors utilize it to get information, and it has saved them a lot of time," says clinical director Jametta Ray. "I use it frequently to look up clinical pathways that help in patient management."

Computers are now in place at ten centers. Because the Internet is constantly changing, Telleen and Crespo continue to train staff members.

They have also developed an online course on Internet use, now available to health department personnel in other parts of Illinois.

"The key ingredient is a long-term commitment by the university," Telleen says. "We’re building a long-term relationship with the centers into the way we work, into our curriculum, and into our research. We’re also sending students to the centers for their field placements."

For Circle Family Care Center, the project has definitely been a success. When the portion of the grant that paid for Internet connectivity ended, the connection was continued with the center’s own funds. "The computer’s availability strengthens all of us in our positions," Hines says.

Contributed by Janice Rosenberg