Geneva Staggs, senior librarian at the University of South Alabama’s Biomedical Library, has recently been selected for the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association's (SC/MLA) Hospital Librarian of the Year award. This award was established to recognize a hospital librarian who exemplifies excellence, promotes leadership, and pursues continued high levels of achievement in the field of library science.
A plaque and a cash award will be presented to Staggs at the SC/MLA annual meeting in Baltimore in October. Stagg’s nomination was based on her involvement with the cardiovascular and thoracic (CVT) surgery patient education program that is underway at the USA Medical Center.
“I have been active in providing the research to support the writing of a new protocol for the services – such as physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and nutrition services – that help with treating open heart patients,” said Staggs. “As part of the protocol we have set up pre-surgery education with the goal of improving outcomes so patients know what to expect when they go into surgery. It relieves some of the stress they are under and gives them good basis for evaluating their progress after surgery.”
Staggs said she started her career at USA in 1979 as the junior hospital librarian at the USA Medical Center and five years ago came back to the hospital as the assistant director for hospital library services. “I enjoyed the hospital atmosphere early in my career, and now it is fulfilling to have the opportunity to positively impact the outcomes of patients,” she said.
Staggs thanks Judy Burnham, director of the USA Biomedical Library, as well as the USA health care community for supporting continuing education and recognizing librarians’ role in patient care.
“I would like to thank Judy Burnham for the support she gives her librarians to be effective members of the health care team at USA and also the members of the South Alabama healthcare community and the USA College of Medicine,” said Staggs. “They recognize that librarians have an important role to play in the safety and outcomes of patients, and they give us the opportunity to develop the skills needed to provide services to the community.”
SC/MLA is a professional organization made up of health science librarians from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To learn more, click here.
