Wisconsin Literacy

MADISON, WI – Wisconsin Literacy has received a grant from the Southwest Wisconsin Area Health Education Center to provide continuing education training in Health Literacy to nursing students at Western Technical College and nurses at Franciscan Skemp in LaCrosse.

Literacy is the strongest predictor of an individual’s health status. Patients with low health literacy skills are less likely to pursue preventive care such as immunizations, cholesterol tests, mammograms and other cancer screening. 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.

The nurses will learn the scope of health literacy, techniques for clear written and oral communication with patients, and how to use support services to help patients understand their health care needs.

The long term goal of this project is to provide continuing education opportunities to a variety of health care professionals interested in learning more about health literacy and what they can do about it.

Wisconsin Literacy works to raise awareness of the impact of low literacy on the state’s economy and the benefits to businesses, families and communities of adult literacy services. The non-profit organization also provides support and training to 54 adult literacy programs statewide. For more information, contact Wisconsin Literacy, Inc. at 608-257-1655 or info@wisconsinliteracy.org.