The Wisconsin Health Literacy Summit Embracing Health Literacy in the New Normal: Digital Communications, Telehealth, Health Insurance, and Health Equity took place on April 4 -6th, 2022. Individuals who work in healthcare, insurance, public health, community-based organizations, research, education, information technology, libraries, literacy and more were able to learn and discuss solutions and strategies to communicate information related to health for improved health outcomes.

We are very grateful for the support of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and for the recognition from Governor Evers. Our member agencies and countless other non-profits and public health workers across Wisconsin are working together to make vaccinations and health care more equitable.

A statewide organization that aims to raise awareness about health literacy is next Monday hosting a vaccine community outreach event to help ensure that the public has access to reliable and accurate information about COVID shots.

This includes smart phones in hand most hours of the day, preordering, contactless pickups, online signups for more reliable PCR tests, online signups for vaccinations, scanning QR codes everywhere, telehealth visits, online health portals, etc. And, for many of us, this is on top of being in online meetings most of the day looking at a screen.

Wisconsin Literacy and Wisconsin Health Literacy were interviewed on WORT 89.9 FM Radio for the "8 O'Clock Buzz." They discussed how adult literacy changes lives and the importance of health literacy for better health outcomes.

The Rural Monitor article covers the importance of using plain language instead of medical jargon to create more equitable healthcare.

“Providers can forget to translate their information back into plain language for their patients,” Stan Hudson, Health Literacy Director of Wisconsin Health Literacy said. “This lends to the creation of an unequal system of information-sharing in healthcare."

In this issue, we feature community programs and opportunities; digital literacy workshops; talking about COVID vaccines in your community; medication label initiative; and health insurance literacy virtual mini-series.

Wisconsin Health Literacy is hiring four Regional Vaccine Community Outreach (VCO) Specialist positions for a 3-year Covid-19 vaccination outreach and education project. Each VCO specialist will be located in a different region across Wisconsin: Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, or Southwest/South Central. Under the general direction of the Health Literacy Director and the VCO Project Manager, VCO Specialists will be part of a team that will design, test, implement, and manage Covid-19 vaccine outreach strategies across Wisconsin.

Thank you, Augusta Public Library, for hosting a free Wisconsin Health Literacy virtual "Let's Talk About Pain Medicine" workshop 11/4. Thanks, WQOW News 18, for sharing how to safely dispose of leftover medication with the general public.