events & training

We are excited to officially invite you to our next virtual Health Literacy Event on October 17th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET.

This event will delve into the world of Health Literacy through the Lens of Trauma-Informed Healing – bringing together health care professionals from across Pennsylvania for an empowering discussion on how we as professionals and practitioners can create a safe space of learning for our patients, communities, and ourselves.

Click here to register

Click here to access the modules.

Click here to request organizational training

On June 6th and 7th, we held our spring virtual event, Screening without Stigma: Health Literate Ways to Ask Hard Questions! We hosted two days of several sessions including panel discussions, keynote addresses, and interactive sessions. For those who could not make it to this event, we’d love to share some quotes and critical messaging that came from the conversations:

“We need to approach these conversations with humility, respect, and compassion.”
U. Tara Hayden

“My concern about the use of the word ‘screening’ is that its use risks turning the activity into a laundry list of questions that forces us not to engage in a patient-centered way.”
Heather Klusaritz, panel discussion

Before health care professionals can administer any care, they must gather information to assess each patient properly. While preliminary physical or psychological health screenings are essential, often, there are underlying issues that aren’t easily identified. We want to continue to grow and learn with you to continue your work with a health literate lens. Thank you to all of our attendees and speakers!

In case you were unable to join the event or would like to review a discussion, you can do so by joining us on Mighty Networks for session recordings and event materials.

On October 27th, we held our fall virtual event, Health Literacy and Language Access! We discussed best practices of health literacy and how we can provide meaningful care through improved language access services. We realize how important it is for folks to access the services they need in the languages they are most comfortable speaking.

This virtual event was held on Zoom through our Mighty Networks platform. If you joined us for our June 2022 Health Literacy Summit, you can log into your Mighty Networks account and click the events section on the left menu to find more details and resources!

If you have not yet joined us on Mighty Networks, we welcome you to create a free account! Please click the link below to get started. Once registered, you can access additional resources and sign up for our next event.

Click here to register or find more resources

The 2022 Health Literacy Summit will bring together health professionals from across Pennsylvania for an empowering two days full of learning and discussion. This virtual conference will address crucial topics impacting the effectiveness of health communication at the personal, community, and statewide levels and lead meaningful conversations about how to better support Pennsylvanians in attaining or maintaining their health goals. This event will empower our attendees to consider that we are all patients, to utilize that experience in the care we collectively provide, and to bridge the gap between patients and professionals across the health care continuum.

To view session recordings and resources shared during this event, join our virtual event platform Mighty Networks! 

Click here to view session recordings and resources

Join us in Harrisburg on May 14 & 15 for the 2019 Pennsylvania Health Literacy Coalition Meeting! Multiple trainings are available, and participants may selectively attend the training(s) of interest to them. All events and trainings listed below will be held at the Crowne Plaza Harrisburg-Hershey, 23 South Second Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101.

Click the title of the training(s) below for more info and to register.

Communicating to Connect | Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 10:00am – 12:30pm

Drawing from the the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s Health Literacy Train-the-Trainer program, this training program provides an overview of health literacy and its impact on health outcomes, plus tips for patient interaction and communication through plain language and teach back. This content has previously been offered as the first section of a full-day provider training.

Materials Design and Review | Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Learn best practices for integrating health literacy into the design and review of written resources, and practice your skills on existing patient education materials.

Tools for Establishing a Culture of Health Literate Care | Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 1:30pm – 3:30pm

From organizational assessment to implementation, this session introduces a set of resources for integrating the Ten Attributes of a Health Literate Organization into your institution.

2019 Pennsylvania Health Literacy Coalition Meeting | Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 8:30am – 12:00pm

Join health literacy champions across the Commonwealth at our fifth annual gathering, featuring a keynote address from Janet Ohene-Frempong, MS, Strategic Partner – Health Literacy, Institute for Healthcare Advancement.

Principles of Motivational Interviewing | Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 1:00pm-4:00pm

Participants will learn the foundational principles behind using motivational interviewing (MI) to communicate with clients/patients and practice using techniques and skills of MI.

Advancing Language Access and Working with Interpreters | Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 1:00pm-4:00pm

Learn more about policy requirements for serving populations with limited English proficiency, working effectively with interpreters, and integrating language access into the workplace workflow.

Tuesday, October 31, 8:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

This half-day event commemorates October as Health Literacy and celebrates organizations, providers, community members, and advocates who work to find the right words and improve health communication in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Featuring Dr. Michael Paasche-Orlow, MD, MA, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, as a keynote speaker presenting on the connection between health literacy and health disparities.

Communicating to Connect: Strategies to Improve Health Literacy

Monday, April 30, 8:30am – 4:30pm

This one-day training program is based on the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s Health Literacy Train-the-Trainer program, which focuses on providing an overview of health literacy and its relationship to health outcomes, as well as enhancing patient interaction and communication through plain language and methods such as teach back. Through this interactive training, participants build their knowledge of strategies to address low health literacy and have opportunities to practice their skills through role play and other activities.

Tuesday, May 1, 8:30am – 4:30pm

Featuring expert speakers, including the keynote presentation “Reimagining Informed Consent in the Age of Health Literacy” by Professor Christopher Trudeau, JD, Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas, Little Rock Bowen School of Law. Also featuring local health literacy champions, language access advocates, and opportunities to network with other advocates and stakeholders.