October 18, 2017 MHA Today is provided as a service to members of the Missouri Hospital Association. Additional information is available online at MHAnet. In This Issue Health Literacy Month Focuses Providers On Communication Kindred Hospital Northland Names New CEO
Quality and Population Health
Staff Contact: Mary Shackelford October is Health Literacy Month. According to the National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy, certain groups and individuals are at the greatest risk for limited health literacy. These at-risk populations include adults over age 65, individuals with limited education or low income, non-native English speakers, racial or ethnic groups, recent refugees and immigrants, and adults with any type of disability, difficulty or illness.
Engaging patients with low health literacy can be difficult. Often these patients may be embarrassed or feel a sense of shame. In addition, they may go to great lengths to hide their lack of understanding. Resources are available to help hospitals and other providers improve health literacy. Back To Top
CEO Announcements
Staff Contact: Carol Boessen Laura Inge has been named CEO of Kindred Hospital Northland in Kansas City, Mo., effective Aug. 20. She replaces Jason Grundstrom, who took over as CEO at Kindred Hospital Kansas City on July 24, replacing John Nat Hughes. Inge previously served as Chief Clinical Officer at Kindred Hospital Northland. A list of CEO changes is available online. Back To Top
The estimated cost of low health literacy to the U.S. economy is between $106 billion and $238 billion annually. This represents between 7 and 17 percent of all personal health care expenditures. Source: National Network of Libraries of Medicine