Elyse Barbell Rudolph, Literacy Assistance Center, 32 Broadway, 10th fl., New York, NY 10004, (212) 803-3300, elyser@lacnyc.org

The New York City Health Literacy Resource Center initiative is a community wide collaboration led by the Literacy Assistance Center in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Social Policy and several corporations and foundations. The initiative merges community healthcare providers, with community literacy educators. In this collaboration, literacy educators teach patients the skills necessary to effectively access healthcare, and provide guidance to help patients understand and comply with their provider’s health instructions. The initiative also seeks to assist health care providers in developing effective communication strategies when giving information to adults with limited literacy and English language skills. The result is better prepared patients, who understand their role in the healthcare relationship and healthier adults who can understand and follow through on their provider’s prescriptions.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the overall goals of the NYC Health Literacy Resource Center (HLRC) initiative.
• Learn to incorporate healthcare professionals in Adult Literacy and English as a Second Language programs when creating and evaluating health promotion programs.

Keywords: Health Education Strategies, Health Literacy

Related Web page: www.lacnyc.org/index.htm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.