# Presentation: 181796

## Wisconsin Literacy, Inc.

- One mission.  One voice.
- A more literate Wisconsin.

**Notes:**
Welcome – Learn a little about the Literacy issue in our state and how it is impacting the healthcare field.  

## What is Wisconsin Literacy?

- A nonprofit coalition of 54 adult, family, and workplace literacy providers
- Our vision is to strengthen Wisconsin’s workforce, families, and communities through literacy

**Notes:**
WI Literacy formed in 1982 as a volunteer-run coalition.  In 2003 it hired its first executive director w/a grant from Verizon and opened up an office in Madison and hired an executive director.  We have grown rapidly since then, now supporting 54 member literacy organizations with 2 full-time staff and 4 part-time regional literacy consultants working from Green-bay, Eau Claire, Madison and Milwaukee.

## How WL began Health Literacy Initiatives 

- September 2003 – Dr. Paul Smith joins WL Board of Directors
- July 2004 – WL host first statewide Health Literacy Summit – 50 attendees
- October 2004 and October 2005 – WL and Dr. Smith submit extensive implementation grant proposal projects connecting adult learners as health literacy consultants to healthcare providers (both projects were not funded)

**Notes:**
WL is a fairly new agency – it was in its first year of having a paid staff person and office that Dr. Paul Smith joined the board and shared his deep interest in HL.  It is important to share our misfortunes as well – a lot of work went into these major grant initiatives and although they were not funded, they served as a springboard for defining what we really wanted to achieve if given the funding.  We began to do what we could without and looked for smaller grant opportunities so that the next time we applied for a grant we’d have accomplished a series of small initiatives.

## How WL began Health Literacy Initiatives

- 2006 - WI Hospital Assoc. hosts webcast of Dr. Smith’s HL presentation to all member hospitals - more speaking requests generated

**Notes:**
If there is one event in our initiatives that I could peg as really moving the issue of HL in WI forward I would have to say it was when Dr. Smith presented to the WHA which did a live webcast of his presentation to all its member hospitals – It was clear from the response and sheer silence after hearing the numbers affected by low health literacy that for many in the healthcare community, this was the first time they realized the magnitude of the issue and it’s impact on their profession.

## How WL Continued Health Literacy Initiatives

- 2006 - Smaller grant proposals funded for Focus Group research within WL member agencies
- 2004-2008 - Continue promoting HL initiatives among WL member agencies (i.e. networking with local hospital foundations, implementing health literacy components within current curriculum, collaborations with state organizations)

## How WL Continued Health Literacy Initiatives

- June 2007 – WL hosts second statewide Health Literacy Summit – 230 attendees representing health care and literacy
- Redesign WL website to emphasize HL efforts – Hits to website double in one year

**Notes:**
The HL Summit was offered Free to participants  and travel vouchers were given to local literacy programs IF they brought a local health care provider with them to the summit – from the local pharmacist, hospital staff, health clinic staff, etc.

## How WL Continued HealthLiteracy Initiatives

- August 2007 – WL submits planning grant to coordinate regional HL committees (Not funded  - work continues anyway)
- Fall 2007 – Four regional HL committees begin post-summit initiatives
- 2007-2008 - WL collaborates with statewide health organizations

**Notes:**
By this time we’re wondering how to clone Dr. Smith.  Request are increasing from statewide associations like the Nursing Assoc, Pharmacy Society, hospitals and national healthcare organizations – There is still a buzz from the HL Summit, regional committees begin work, equipped with $2,000 budget each, but no grant funding.  In Fall of 2007 I attended some key government and university health and public policy meetings and took the opportunity to stand up during Q & A period to tell about the NAAL data and our initiatives – as a result, partnerships formed with the Department of Health and Family Services, and the WI Collaborative on HC Quality to look at statewide Health insurance roll out plans for Medicaid patients and a statewide patient empowerment initiative using Ask Me 3.  It was Woody Allen that said 90% of life is just showing up – attending some of these meetings and telling your story is a good example.

## Collaborative Partners on Health Literacy Initiatives

- State Medical Society
- State Hospital Association
- State Department of Public Health
- Public Health Association
- Health Insurance Association
- Nursing Association
- Pharmacy Association
- Dentist Association

## Collaborative Partners on Health Literacy Initiatives

- Local Hospitals and Clinics
- Health Care Quality Organizations
- Corporations with Literacy Focus – Verizon, Pfizer, Dollar General, etc.
- University and Community Technical Colleges
- Health Education Centers
- Newspaper Association
- AARP

**Notes:**
I will highlight that WL has worked to develop a stronger partnership with our technical college system  - they too have a strong interest in a possible statewide Health Literacy Curriculum.  This has been one of the high interest areas for our members and a hook for them to consider HL in a broader context.

## Be Careful What You Wish For!

- Health Literacy initiatives can drive your organization when your organization’s mission should drive your initiatives
- Have a strategic plan to guide your work in HL – it can take your organization in many directions
- Always keep in mind how your work benefits the adult learner

**Notes:**
By now I am spending 65% of my time on HL work – Concern from member agencies as to how they benefit from all our HL initiatives when their priorities are funding and additional resources to serve a growing population.  Finding that balance can be difficult.  Linking the literacy field with the health care field is an opportunity that can bring the literacy issue forward and one we can’t afford to ignore.

## How Do You Get Health Literacy in the News?

- _The $ Cost of Health Literacy_** **
- $106-$236 is lost every year on healthcare costs due to patients' low level of literacy skills. (University of Connecticut, Oct. 2007)
-  The amount of money saved if health literacy issues were addressed is enough to fund the more than 47 million uninsured Americans in 2006.

**Notes:**
This is due to:
Low health literate individuals.  They have more difficulty with:
 following physician’s orders, 
adhering to medication schedules, 
filling out registration and insurance forms, and 
understanding how to use the healthcare system efficiently
 are less likely to pursue preventive care such as immunizations, cholesterol tests, mammograms and other cancer screening.  

## How Do You Market Health Literacy? 

- Tell the stories
- Add HL Resources to your Website
- Show the IOM video
- Relay The Joint Commission’s emphasis on language, literacy, culture and patient safety

**Notes:**
People relate to stories – it is what connects them to an issue and makes them move toward addressing it.  It also helps to have orgs. like JCOH to encourage healthcare providers to address patient understanding as it relates to safety.

## Why Should I Develop a Partnership with a Healthcare Organization? 

- Hospitals have foundations
- They have funds
- They have material
- Patient education is part of their mission
- Your literacy program can possibly help

## Why Should I Develop a Partnership with a Healthcare Organization? 

- Joint Commission suggest they do something about health literacy
- They have personnel/speakers/grant writers
- They also serve your learners
- They share your mission to serve others

## How Do I Approach Health Care Providers?

- If you want to work with their materials – contact their Patient Education Dept.
- Have your learners review the literacy level of their materials
- Consider collaboration on a health literacy proposal

**Notes:**
First – Think about what you want to do with your healthcare partner.  Come up with ways you can work together that wiil benefit both organizations as well

## How Do I Approach Health Care Providers?

- Do you want to be a part of some of the professional development opportunities they might be offering?
- Can you help with diversity training or cultural education?
- Can you provide language classes to foreign speaking employees?

## One Example of a Literacy-Health Care Collaborative Project

- ASK ME 3:
- The Racine Literacy Council has used Ask Me 3 to reach not only their own students and tutors but the public and the health care industry. By writing a grant to the Racine Community Foundation they received money to develop a DVD which teaches the Ask Me 3 program. When completed, it was given to the area hospital for use in waiting areas, in the emergency department and in doctor’s waiting rooms. It was also given to area health departments, the library, free clinics and other medical providers whose patients can benefit from the program.
- The Racine Literacy Council has partnered with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-All Saints; the City of Racine Health Department; the Racine Public Library; the Health Care Network, Gateway Technical College and the Family Practice Residency Center (a part of the Medical College of Wisconsin) in advancing the health literacy agenda.

## For  More Information.....

- Contact:  Michele Erikson
- 			  Wisconsin Literacy, Inc.
- 			  _[michele@wisconsinliteracy.org](mailto:michele@wisconsinliteracy.org)_
- Visit:  _[www.wisconsinliteracy.org](http://www.wisconsinliteracy.org/)__ _

- “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope... the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”
-  	– Kofi Annan