June 2021
In this issue:
-WHL Welcomes New Team Member
-Talking About COVID Vaccines in Your Community
-Medication Label Project Updates
-2021 Community Program Opportunities
-Past Program Reports
-Health Insurance Virtual Mini-Series Save the Dates
WHL Welcomes New Team Member
Welcome Project Manager, Bhumi Khambholja
Join us in welcoming Bhumi Khambholja to our team. Bhumi has 10 years of experience on the frontlines of healthcare as a community pharmacist where she organized and implemented a variety of patient engagement initiatives. Improving health and digital literacy was an essential part of her work in helping patients manage their health conditions. She has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and a Master’s in Health Informatics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She currently lives with her husband and son in the Milwaukee suburbs. She is excited to work for a nonprofit organization and focus her efforts on advancing health literacy.
“Health literacy is key to improved health outcomes and a better quality of life. It is a privilege to be able to work on projects that empower people to protect their health and the health of their families.”
-Bhumi
Talking About COVID Vaccines in Your Community
Thanks to the support of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services COVID-19 Community Outreach Grant, WHL has been facilitating a 2-part virtual series training, Talking About the COVID Vaccine in Your Community, to help community leaders learn strategies to share COVID-19 vaccine information and resources in their communities.

There are 2 sessions remaining on July 20th from 1:30 - 3:00 pm and July 22nd from 1:30 - 3:00 pm. The sessions have also been recorded and can be viewed by clicking the link below.

This training is free and open to anyone who would like to attend.

Feedback from past sessions:

"I appreciated the breakout session as it gave a chance to practice what we were discussing. It also brought to light additional questions I wouldn't have thought of until actually being in a situation where I was practicing outreach."

"Thanks for putting this on! Makes me feel a little more confident about talking with people who don't agree with my point of view on something I feel is really important."
Medication Label Project Update
A big thank you to all the pharmacies who have been part of the project!

Phase 3 of the Medication Label Project will end June 30th. A list of participating pharmacies can be found on our website: https://wisconsinliteracy.org/health-literacy/programs/current-programs/medication-label-project.html

Over 21% of Wisconsin pharmacies joined the project in Phase 2 and Phase 3 to adopt a patient centered label.

Know a pharmacy who wants to redesign their prescription label? Have them contact bhumi@wisconsinliteracy.org or stan@wisconsinliteracy.org to be connected to our Pharmacy Label Champions group who can provide guidance through the process.

2021 Community Program Opportunities
Let's Talk About Pain Medicines

Thanks to the support from Security Health Plan and Marshfield Clinic Health Systems, WHL is facilitating another round of Let's Talk About Pain Medicine workshops. This is a free community-based education workshop, talking about safe and effective ways to use prescription opioid medicines.

The 60-minute workshop can be facilitated in-person or virtually. Participants receive a workbook to guide them through the workshop and take home, along with fact sheets, a quiz activity, and drug deactivation kit.

Workshops can be scheduled now - January 2022.


Let's Talk About Diabetes - Ways to help not get diabetes

Thanks to the support from Security Health Plan and Marshfield Clinic Health Systems, WHL is developing and will be facilitating 12 community-based workshops on ways to prevent diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 out of 3 (88 million) Americans have prediabetes, and, out of that number, 84% don't even know they have prediabetes.

The 60-minute workshop can be facilitated in-person or virtually. Participants receive a workbook to guide them through the workshop and take home, along with fact sheets, a quiz activity, and chance to win a cash prize drawing.

Workshops can be scheduled now - January 2022.


Improving Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Care through Health Literacy - Supporting Unpaid Caregivers

Thanks to the support from the RRF Foundation on Aging, WHL is working closely with a co-creation team of unpaid caregivers, to recraft our Improving Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Care through Health Literacy curriculum to meet the health literacy needs of informal and family caregivers in communicating with health professionals and providing care to those they serve. WHL is partnering closely with the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin, the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, and numerous Aging and Disability Resource Centers across Wisconsin to implement the program and provide health literacy training and support to unpaid caregivers across the state. 

The 60-minute workshop is facilitated virtually. Participants receive an electronic workbook to guide them through the workshop and for future reference.

Workshops can be scheduled now - December 2021.


If you are interested in bringing any of the above programs to your community, please contact project manager, Caitlyn Mowatt, at caitlyn@wisconsinliteracy.org.
Past Program Reports
WHL is grateful for the recent opportunities to connect with community members and share resources around digital health literacy and training for professionals around dementia care.

Health Online: Finding Information You Can Trust was finalized April 30, 2021. Thanks to the support of the Network of the National Libraries of Medicine, Wisconsin Health Literacy completed 30 community-based workshops and 5 train-the-trainer sessions were presented. Workshops transitioned to be primarily online, with 21 out of the 35 presentations hosted virtually. Throughout the phase of the project, the materials were translated in 7 different languages, including: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. And interpreters were used to translate the presentation in Chinese, Hmong, Karen, Rohyinga, Somali, and Spanish. 

Overall, the project was successful in reaching a diverse population in Wisconsin, bringing awareness to the importance of looking for credible health information online and how to access and navigate these online resources. 76 participants identified being 55 years or older, 20 identified having low literacy, and 97 identified being an English Language Learner. The project reached 17 different ethnicities in 16 Wisconsin counties, and also expanded to other counties in the state through the statewide library system virtual training, and was disseminated nationally through a training session at the Florida Literacy Conference. The total counted project reach was 693 people.


Improving Alzheimer's and other Dementia Care through Health Literacy was finalized May 31, 2021. Thanks to the support of Bader Philanthropies, Inc., WHL staff facilitated trainings and expanded the number of Alzheimer’s and Early Dementia workshops to new county and community partners that work with aging populations to align health literacy approaches to caregivers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHL facilitated 3 onsite trainings and during the pandemic WHL facilitated 15 virtual trainings using the online platform, Zoom. 

From the 18 total trainings, 179 professionals and caregivers participated in live workshops. Out of the 18 workshops, WHL worked with 17 new community partners throughout 15 counties of which 14 of these counties were new. Participants practiced different communication strategies during the training and based on feedback from the 90-day post survey, 87% felt that as a result of attending this workshop they have made changes in communicating with individuals with dementia and these changes have improved the individuals understanding of health information.
Join us this September to strengthen your health insurance literacy. 

Wisconsin Health Literacy is hosting a virtual professional development series for those who help patients, employees, and every day people understand and use their health insurance. 

Strengthen Health Insurance Literacy: Improving Access, Understanding, and Use
Session topics: 
  • Communicating Health Insurance 
  • Health Insurance Numeracy
  • Communicating Health Insurance with Seniors 
  • Health Insurance Equity 

More details coming soon!

Special thanks to event sponsor WEA Trust. 
Wisconsin Health Literacy | 608-257-1655 | www.wisconsinhealthliteracy.org