[NIFL-HEALTH:2708] HLMonth 2000, Summary

From: Helen Osborne (Helen@healthliteracy.com)
Date: Mon Nov 06 2000 - 19:24:49 EST


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Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:2708] HLMonth 2000, Summary
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HLMonth 2000, Summary Report
November 6, 2000

Health Literacy Month 2000 is now history. Many organizations and
individuals across the US and Canada participated in HLMonth. Here's a brief
summary of how I understood what you told me:

* Literacy Volunteers of America posted the HLMonth banner on their Web site
* The National Health Information Center added HLMonth to their calendar of
events
* Ohio State University hosted a Health Literacy Awareness Seminar, with the
First Lady (the Governor's wife) acknowledging HLMonth
* The Greater Columbia Literacy Council of South Carolina wrote several
articles for professional newsletters and also hosted a health literacy
reception
* The Center for Literacy in Montreal launched a Health Literacy project
* A day treatment center in Pennsylvania  hosted numerous consumer events
at a local drop-in center
* Life Long Medical Care in California held a workshop and published a
newsletter dedicated to health literacy
* Congregational nurses in Texas held meetings, gave out flyers, and ran
in-service programs for caregivers, health professionals, volunteers, and
university students
* The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire held a wide range
of in-house as well as collaborative outreach activities, projects, and
programs
* The Health Education Center, a non-profit affiliate of High Mark Blue
Cross Blue Shield, together with the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council in
Pennsylvania asked the City Council to proclaim October as Health Literacy
Awareness Month. The Health Education Center also organized numerous events
to go along with this proclamation
* The Indiana Literacy Foundation held an annual conference, with a panel
presentation on Literacy and Health
* The West Virginia Rural Health Conference highlighted HLMonth
* Health Literacy Consulting in Massachusetts held TeleClasses, spoke to
consumer and professional groups about health literacy, wrote an article
about HLMonth, and was interviewed for a local newspaper
* Many individuals also participated. They put health literacy signs on
their office doors, added health literacy to their department's agenda, read
articles, attended seminars, talked with colleagues, visited the Toolbox Web
site, sent out HLMonth postcards, participated in HLMonth TeleClasses,
watched the AMA health literacy video, contacted other health literacy
advocates in their area, volunteered as literacy tutors, and even considered
health literacy as a career choice.

Without exception, everyone spoke positively about their participation. Some
people are already talking about what they can do for next year's Health
Literacy Month. Next time, however, people said that they will try to plan
ahead, acquire funding, and put aside more resources to work on and
publicize these events.

In reflection, the initial goal of Health Literacy Month was met. Together,
we spoke with a collective voice about the need for understandable health
information.

Thank you all,
Helen Osborne, MEd., OTR/L
Founder, Health Literacy Month
&
Health Literacy Consulting, Natick, MA
Phone: 508-653-1199 * Fax: 508-650-9492
mailto:Helen@healthliteracy.com
http://www.healthliteracy.com



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