enlace to participate in SWSC Health Literacy Conference
enlace to Participate in Health Literacy Conference
(Tuesday, September 30, 2008) On Tuesday, Oct. 28, Angela Smith of enlace, a Berlin company dedicated to helping businesses and organizations effectively serve the growing Hispanic community, will attend the first regional Southwest/South Central Wisconsin Health Literacy Conference in Madison as a member of Wisconsin Literacy and the Health Literacy committee.
According to Smith, "Given our changing community demographics and economic conditions, promoting and improving health literacy is crucial. A goal of the Health Literacy Conference is to help healthcare providers understand how they can better serve the unique needs of our changing communities."
Citing a 2008 American Medical Association report which reveals that Hispanic adults have lower average health literacy scores than adults in any other racial or ethnic group, Smith commented, "Low health literacy can lead to serious deficits in quality of care and successful health outcomes. The need for improving health literacy is a public health issue and being a member of the Health Literacy Committee gives enlace the opportunity to serve our community by advocating for those affected, representing local concerns at a regional level and by being a resource for organizations striving to overcome the health challenges presented by low literacy rates, especially those related to cultural and linguistic barriers."
Smith anticipates a highlight of the conference will be a presentation by Christina Cordero of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) who will address recent recommendations for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) released by the commission and what the future of those recommendations could look like. Quoting Smith, "The JCHAO recommendations are a response to the needs of an increasingly diverse community and I believe they will be a stepping stone to future standards for accreditation. Healthcare providers are recognizing the changing dynamics of our communities and implementation of policies and procedures that respect cultural and linguistic differences helps to create healthier communities."
enlace is a community affairs firm providing intercultural education, Spanish language training, leadership development programs, community engagement projects and marketing and communications support. For more information about enlace, visit http://www.theenlacegroup.com/ .
Contact: Robert Smith, Director
920-229-9325
robertsmith@theenlacegroup.com