News Releases

2012 Ohio Health Literacy Conference Series Wraps Up

Healthcare advocates, providers, universities and other organizations throughout Ohio attended the 2012 Ohio Health Literacy Conference on Oct. 26 at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. More than 100 people attended the Ohio Health Literacy Conference Day, the fourth and final session in the Health Literacy Conference Series hosted by presenting partners, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and Project Learn, and sponsored by Regency Construction and The Center for Health Affairs/CHAMPS Healthcare. 

Attendees heard from health literacy experts throughout the day, including featured speaker, Christina Cordero of The Joint Commission, and keynote speaker, Cynthia Baur of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

During her presentation, “What Did the Doctor Say?: Advancing Health Literacy through Joint Commission Standards and Initiatives,” Cordero stressed the importance of health literacy, encouraging attendees to "make sure patients play an active role in the patient/doctor setting.” 

Baur shared her experience as an advocate for health literacy during her presentation, “The National Action Plan as a Tool for Health Literacy Progress in Ohio.” As part of the presentation, she explained how attendees could apply her work with HHS to their organizations. “Break down your process so that every step is looked at from a health literacy perspective,” she advised. 

Representatives from The Center for Health Affairs and CHAMPS attended the conference and shared recent publications on related topics, including last month’s policy snapshot on health literacy, with attendees. The Center also joined in live-tweeting the event using the hashtag #OHLC. 

For more information on the 2012 Ohio Health Literacy Conference series, including copies of the presentations and handouts, visit St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s website.