August 2011…Andrea Kenyon, a trained medical librarian, has joined the Healthy NewsWorks team.
She said she hopes to help Healthy NewsWorks develop an electronic library of kid-friendly health information resources. She also will provide literacy training and support for teachers and students.
“I hope to empower children by teaching them to locate and use credible health information resources that allow them to educate themselves about health and health issues,” said Ms. Kenyon.
She recently retired from The College of Physicians of Philadelphia after spending 25 years providing medical information and education to improve public health. As Director of Public Services and Community Outreach, she developed a regional health information website.
“When I was a student, people couldn’t access the health information they needed, or if they could, they did not understand it,” she said. “My work has been focused on making quality health information available to people and promoting health literacy to the public.”
Ms. Kenyon looks forward now to concentrating on making such information accessible to children. “It is important to give children tools to help them understand their health from an early age,” she said. “This will enable them to make informed heath decisions for their whole lives.”
Ms. Kenyon hopes that she will be able to encourage children to understand the importance of preventive care. “Prevention is so important to maintain a healthy level of productivity for as long as possible, and to sustain a high quality of life.”
—By Emily Eisner, Healthy NewsWorks intern
