Our History

Health literacy was first measured on a national scale in 2003. The results revealed:

• Only 12 percent of Americans are proficient in health literacy and 93 million Americans 16 years or older (43 percent of the population) read at the two lowest literacy levels
• Health literacy isn't just an issue that affects people with limited English or low literacy skills; 88 percent of the U.S. population is challenged by the health care system

As a national leader in the field of health literacy, Wisconsin Health Literacy (WHL) has spent 15 years raising awareness of this silent crisis in health care.

WHL hosts biennial health literacy summits, which have gained national exposure for their cutting edge knowledge sharing. WHL experts have made hundreds of health literacy presentations and initiated numerous health literacy projects that are improving health outcomes. We have worked closely with both adult literacy providers, social service organizations, government agencies and health care providers to equip them with information and resources to make health literacy a priority for clients and patients.