Telehealth ARPA Opportunity for Public Libraries

The ongoing pandemic has put a spotlight on inequities in the healthcare system, especially among those most vulnerable. There is a need for public libraries to play a role in advancing health equity that can be bridged through the NJHealthConnect @ Your Library, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) opportunity.

This new program, administered by New Jersey State Library, and implemented by Just For The Health Of It! at East Brunswick Public Library, addresses inequities through a combination of technology that offers links to telemedicine apps for doctor appointments, and links to COVID and high-quality health literacy resources. Most importantly, it features a team of certified consumer health librarians at the East Brunswick Public Library who will facilitate and train NJ librarians to implement a telehealth program in their communities.

NJHealthConnect @ Your Library supports the New Jersey’s Healthy People 2030 mission to help people get timely, high-quality health care services so that good health is within the grasp of everyone.

Project Description

Just For The Health Of It! at East Brunswick Public Library will serve as a statewide hub to promote health equity by disseminating iPads to interested partner libraries throughout the state that will be used for the purposes of telemedicine and to provide access to multilingual health information that promotes health literacy and patient empowerment.

Telemedicine visits have become a widely accepted and mainstream way of leveling the playing field in healthcare access by virtue of its convenience, portability, and affordability, and changes the patient/doctor relationship for the better.

If your library is interested in participating in this program to provide telehealth resources and service to your community, and receive free technology and training to implement the program, please register for our informational webinar, where we will describe the program and requirements in detail, on:

November 16, at 2:00 p.m. Register: https://njhealthconnectatyourlibrary.eventbrite.com

Michele Stricker

Deputy State Librarian for Lifelong Learning

New Jersey State Library