York County Literacy Council Holds Annual Meeting

 

York, Pa. – York County Literacy Council (YCLC) held their annual meeting on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at York Salvation Army. Mr. John Abel, Senior Deputy Attorney General was the guest speaker presenting “Avoiding Frauds & Scams”.  YCLC focused on financial literacy highlighting many student financial success stories including businesses owned and operated by YCLC students.

 

Mrs. Blanche Hake received the Bea Blatner Award honoring the many years of service Blanche has provided as a dedicated tutor and volunteer for literacy. Blanche taught in the “reading with children” and “literacy improves family education” programs. She also volunteered in the elementary schools, the Jefferson Center, SPOC program and even York County Prison -making reading fun and interesting and showing parents that they are their children’s first teachers.   She has tutored adults in prison and has provided more than 750 hours of tutoring 9 additional students towards their goals.   Blanche has also donated 400 volunteer hours in the office and helping with special events.

 

 In 2008/9 YCLC provided literacy programs including one-to-one tutoring, daytime and evening classes and computer lab for 770 students. In addition 318 volunteers provided 12,760+ hours of service to support literacy in York County. YCLC provides free and confidential literacy services to adults in York County. We define literacy as the ability to read, write and speak English in everyday life situations.    For more information, call (717) 845-8719. For additional information about YCLC refer to www.yorkliteracy.org

 

Blanche Hake receives the Bea Blatner Award ! 

York County Literacy Council Receives Central Penn Business Innovation Award 2009

York, PA – York County Literacy Council has won the Program-Medium/Large Organizations Award during Central Penn Business Journal’s tenth annual Nonprofit Innovation Awards in recognition of innovation in their daily operations.

An independent panel of four judges evaluated qualified nominees and determined the finalists. At the awards breakfast held at the Hilton Harrisburg, York County Literacy Council was awarded a $2000 check to be used for their mission of teaching adults to read.

York County Literacy Council received the award out of 35 finalists named in five categories: “Brand Identity/Unique Marketing Campaign,” “Collaboration,” “Programs – Small Organizations with 25 or fewer employees,” “Programs – Medium/Large Organizations with 26 or more employees,” and “Nonprofit Leadership Excellence.” The York County Literacy Council award reflects originality, effectiveness, measurability, efficient utilization of resources, and potential as a model for other organizations.

The event was sponsored by: Highmark Blue Shield; Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz; Commerce Bank; Temple University Harrisburg Nonprofit Evaluation, Services and Training; Harsco Corporation; Schaedler Yesco Distribution; and Reager & Adler PC. The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, the York County Community Foundation and the Lancaster County Community Foundation are founding partners of the program.

For more information about the Nonprofit Innovation Awards, contact Colleen Jones at the Central Penn Business Journal at (717) 236-4300 or visit Www.centralpennbusiness.com

 Health Literacy

 Healthy York County Coalition Forms Task Force to Tackle Health Literacy in York County

Healthy York County Coalition (HYCC) has formed a new task force to address the issue of health literacy in York County.
Bobbi Anne Cavanaugh, York County Literacy Council, chairs the task force. Health literacy addresses a patient’s ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.  According to the American Medical Association limited health literacy is
proven to be a strong predictor of a person’s health, more so than health status, age, income, employment status, education level, or race/ethnicity.

 
The Health Literacy Task Force plans on working toward the following goals to help improve the health literacy of York County:

1.Incorporate health literacy initiatives in all health management systems to improve health services.
2.Enhance access to evidence-based health-related information that is presented in plain language.
3.Raise public awareness about the importance of health literacy.
4.Empower patients to be active in their health care.
5.Charge the health care team to create a comprehensive partnership with their patients.

The Health Literacy Task Force is made up of individuals from the following organizations:  Healthy York Network; Department of Nursing, York College of Pennsylvania; Family First Health; Lutheran Social Services; Pennsylvania Department of Health; York City Bureau of Health; WellSpan (including York Hospital, York Cancer Center, and the WellSpan Pharmacy); Memorial Hospital; Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center; York County Area Agency on Aging;
Department of Nursing, HACC-York; Parish Nurses; and York County Literacy Council.

The initiative stemmed out of research done by Aligning Forces for Quality  that shows that 1 in 3 patients in York County with chronic conditions have limited health literacy.  Specifically, 26% of diabetes patients, 30% of CAD patients, and 43% of heart failure patients indicated having limited health literacy.

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy’s Report on Health Literacy estimates that 88 million or 39% of Americans have poor health literacy.  This translates to 2 out of every 5 adults.  Health literacy and low literacy are similar,but not interchangeable terms.  Health literacy encompasses more than just being able to read and write.
Health literacy in essence involves clear communication between the health care team, whether that be the doctor or nurse, and the patient.  Improved health literacy can lead to better health outcomes and decreased health care costs.

For more information on the Health Literacy Task Force please contact Robin Rohrbaugh, Executive Director of HYCC at 717-851-2333.
 

 Aligning Forces for Quality - South Central PA  - http://www.aligning4healthpa.org/default.aspx?pageid=33