Gervasini Consumer Library & Patient Resources

Welcome to the Virtual Reading Room

This site and our hospital's Reading Room are made possible by the generous donations of the William V. Gervasini Foundation and Judi Kent Gervasini. Dedicated to honor the memory of Mr. Gervasini, the resources serve to help anyone struggling with a serious illness or in need of understandable, objective information on medical issues and conditions. We have made links to reputable and credible internet resources available below for you to perform your own research or if you need help, you can complete this form to Ask a Medical Librarian at Saint Joseph Hospital. 

This resources are provided for educational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please contact your doctor for more information.

General Resources

SCL Health Online Health Library includes tools to help you research and questions. This site includes interactive tools like calculators and risk assessments, videos and podcasts, and resources on Diseases and Conditions, Drug Reference, Herbs, and our Wellness Library. 

MedlinePlus is produced by the National Library of Medicine,  the world’s largest medical library. It brings you information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues in language you can understand. MedlinePlus offers reliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere, for free. MedlinePlus tells you about the latest treatments, allows you to look up information on a drug or supplement, or to find out the meanings of words, or even to view medical videos or illustrations. You can also get links to the latest medical research on your topic or find out about clinical trials on a disease or condition. 

Familydoctor.org is operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), a national medical organization representing more than 124,900 family doctors, family medicine residents, and medical students. The AAFP was founded in 1947 to promote and maintain high quality standards for family doctors. Family doctors take care of the physical, mental, and emotional health of the whole family, from newborns to older adults. You can search for Medications, Conditions, Procedures, Treatment, Wellness, and Health Tools at this site. 

Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. The Drug Information Database is supplied by: Wolters Kluwer Health, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Cerner Multum and Micromedex from Truven Health.  

Lab Test Online contains information on  lab tests, conditions/diseases, screening, clinical laboratory topics, and lab test news. The site is produced by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. 

The Medical Library Association provides the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS) which evaluates websites based on the following criteria: credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content, audience, currency, disclosure, purpose, links, design, interactivity, and disclaimers. Take a look at these highly credible sites designed especially Some websites include audio and/or video versions of information. These are indicated below.for patients and their loved ones. 

More links

• National Networks of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) Consumer Health Information in Many Languages 
• American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology Web Treats
• Health Translations Directory (90+ languages)

Resources in languages other than English

Consumer Health Information in Other Languages by SCLHS Librarians. Some websites include audio and/or video versions of information. These are indicated below. Last updated 4/3/2017.