Amen sister!

Pam Reichel
Community Health Education
-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Janet Sorensen
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 2:19 PM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [HealthLiteracy] Welcome to New Subscribers, and a Question for
All

Hello, list! I'm senior writer for the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care.
We are Arkansas' Medicare quality improvement organization (QIO) and have
similar contracts with Arkansas Medicaid. As part of the communications
department, I write and edit journal articles, magazine articles, brochures,
newsletters, print ads, radio PSAs and other materials for several
audiences, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, physicians, health
care administrators and the general public. Obviously, I have to shift gears
a lot.
This list helps me keep up with developments in health literacy and health
care communications. It also helps me feel a little less alone, and inspires
me to keep trying when I run into resistance from other staff members or
management.
One thing I try to keep in mind and communicate to our clinical staff
members and upper administrators is that we ALL need clear, well-planned,
well-written and effectively designed health care materials. I'm not just
"dumbing things down" for the "lowest common denominator," as one co-worker
so sensitively put it. Who would voluntarily read something that sounds like
a college textbook? Even college students have to be forced! And why should
a Medicaid recipient have to make 10 phone calls to answer a simple coverage
question?
It's helpful to know that so many others on this list are facing similar
challenges, and that there is a movement to find novel and effective ways to
communicate complex concepts.

Janet Sorensen
Senior Writer
Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care
Little Rock, AR


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