NetWellness Receives Federal Funds

Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus [March 18, 2003] - NetWellness partner universities, the University of Cincinnati (UC), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and The Ohio State University (OSU), will receive $750,000 in federal funding to support NetWellness ( http://www.netwellness.org ). This Internet health resource is offered jointly by Ohio's leading research universities. Founded in 1995 at UC, NetWellness originated in the earliest days of the World Wide Web and was one of the first health Web sites. The partnership has continued to flourish and offers an important, unbiased source of health information to the public.

Funding was secured in the federal budget through the leadership of Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-OH), Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Navarre) and Rep. Dave Hobson (R-Springfield).

"The Internet provides widespread, anytime access to information," said Voinovich. "Using this tool to help people become more informed about their health can help people lead healthier lifestyles, make better decisions, and learn where to turn when they need more help. Ohio has been a leader in this area and I'm glad to continue to support this important health outreach with these funds."

Regula emphasized the growth of the Internet as a resource for information. "As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, I am pleased to assist in providing these funds," said Regula. "As the Internet becomes an increasingly important source of information in many areas, including health, a non-profit site such as NetWellness, has exceptional value. It ensures that the collective expertise of Ohio's three premier research universities is available to all the nation's citizens."

The use of the Internet as a medium for providing information has propelled NetWellness' reach far beyond the boundaries of Ohio. "With origins in Ohio, NetWellness has been able to offer the collective expertise of three premier universities to become an important nationwide resource to address the needs of many different and diverse communities," said Hobson. "With this funding, NetWellness can continue to develop information vital to both public and individual health, including bioterror preparedness, stroke, fitness and cancer."

NetWellness content is created and supported by faculty of the three partner universities. Faculty members from, UC, CWRU, and OSU volunteer their time to ensure that the reliability of the science-based information on the site including over 30,000 pages of easy to understand information on hundreds of health topics, current health news, an African American Health Center, and much more. In the "Ask an Expert" feature, over 150 university physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists and other allied health professionals have answered over 20,000 questions on hundreds of topics ranging from allergy to infertility to newborn care. NetWellness archives the "Ask an Expert" questions and answers for visitors to browse, preserving complete anonymity and privacy.

Under the leadership of former Gov. George V. Voinovich, Ohio took the lead early by connecting citizens across the state with high-speed networks including public libraries, K- 12 schools and universities. The NetWellness partnership originated through that leadership with funding from the State of Ohio and the U. S. Department of Commerce. The funding has aided NetWellness in its ability to cater to diverse populations throughout the state as well as those with an in-home internet connection.

Leaders from NetWellness partner universities comment:

"NetWellness helps to fulfill one of the medical center's missions, serving the community. Our faculty provide trustworthy health information."

--William Martin II, M.D., dean of the UC College of Medicine.

"This funding provides the opportunity for our universities to continue to provide the highest quality state-of-the-art information to the public. Most importantly, this is a source of health information that the public can trust because it is supervised by three major academic medical centers."

--Jerry Goldberg, D.D.S., interim dean of the CWRU School of Medicine and dean of the School of Dentistry.

"NetWellness provides an important avenue to disseminate information vital to the health of the public on subjects ranging from epidemics to bioterrorism preparedness. In addition to the unbiased and evidenced-based information provided by our faculty experts, this information can truly lead to improving health-related quality of life."

--Dev Pathak, Ph.D., interim dean of the OSU School of Public Health.