Libraries Connecting You to Coverage: Health Literacy

As part of its ongoing work to support the public library’s role in creating healthy communities, PLA is taking steps to increase consumer education around health insurance and information. How can your library help? This free on-demand webinar helps public library staff better understand the importance of health literacy, how to promote accurate health information and resources, and how to develop community partnerships to broaden the scope of a healthy community.

Originally presented May 7, 2019.

PLA's health insurance education initiative, Libraries Connecting You to Coverage, is part of a national partnership made possible by funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this on-demand webinar, participants will:

• Identify the needs for promotion, education, and outreach around health literacy;
• Take advantage of free resources and tools to assist libraries in providing accurate health information; and
• Explore strategies for advocacy and developing partnerships to create a healthier community.

Additional Resources

Leighann Wood, lwood@ala.org, Program Manager, PLA

• Slideshow (PDF, 16 pgs.)
• Resources:
  • PLA’s Libraries Connecting You to Coverage Initiative
  • Outreach Hub – Enrollment materials
  • Measuring the Success of Health Programs and Services webinar
  • Assister Readiness materials
  • Community Health Assessment Toolkit
  • Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services
  • Coverage plans on Healthcare.gov
  • PLA’s Project Outcome
  • Turning the Page
  • National Network of Libraries of Medicine
  • Community Catalyst

Diane Webb, dwebb@healthliteracy.media, Assistant Director of Program Development, Health Literacy Media (St. Louis, MO)

• Slideshow (PDF, 25 pgs.)
• Resources:
  • Health Literacy Media
  • HLM Videos
  • National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy (PDF, 73 pgs.)

Liz Rapp, erapp@jmrl.org, Reference and Serials Librarian, Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (Charlottesville, VA)

• Slideshow (PDF, 9 pgs.)
• Resources:
  • MedlinePlus Easy-to-Read Health Materials
  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
  • National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) Reading Club
  • International Rescue Committee
  • Circulating Fit Kits

Brett Lear, blear@gcpld.org, Executive Director, Garfield County Libraries (Rifle, CO)

• Slideshow (PDF, 11 pgs.)

Chat Transcript (as plain text)

Who Should Attend

This on-demand webinar is intended for public library staff with limited prior knowledge of health literacy and related resources. It will be useful to front line staff as well as managers and administrators.

Presenters

Diane Webb, MPH, CHES, is assistant director of program development at Health Literacy Media in St. Louis, MO. Diane believes that health literacy is critical to help people take an active role in their health. She loves the challenge of applying health literacy strategies to make complex topics easier to understand as she writes and edits materials. She also develops and delivers trainings to improve health literacy skills for a variety of audiences.

For more than five years, she managed research for the Department of Neurosurgery at Saint Louis University, including research on traumatic brain injury and neurosurgery devices. In this role, Diane was involved in nearly all aspects of the research process—writing study procedure manuals, submitting protocols to obtain institutional review board approval, recruiting and retaining study participants, writing and submitting reports to federal agencies and sponsors, collecting and analyzing data, and disseminating results. She saw the importance of clear communication, which sparked a passion to help people feel more confident (and less afraid) of health information.

Diane holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Behavioral Science and Health Education & Epidemiology from Saint Louis University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Currently, she serves as a board member on the American Diabetes Association.

Liz Rapp has worked as a reference and serials librarian at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Charlottesville, VA since 2016. In addition to managing serials for the system, she plans programming for adults, including working with community partners on health programs, and she recently launched a circulating special collection with a focus on healthy living.

Brett Lear is executive director of Garfield County (CO) Public Library District. He has more than 30 years of library experience, having begun his career at the New York Public Library in front-line customer service. He has worked in libraries in New York, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, and California. He holds a master’s in library science (MLS) from Florida State University and an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Sonoma State University in California. In addition to working in libraries, Brett began a consulting firm in 2016 where he worked closely with libraries and local government around the state of California.

Brett is an active member of the American Library Association (ALA) and has served on national committees such as the Services to Adults Committee and the Library Services to the Spanish Speaking Committee. He is a past chair of the NorthNet Library System, a cooperative of over 50 library systems in Northern California. Additionally, he has authored a first and second edition of Adult Programs in the Library.