Health Literacy Awareness Month
Midland Memorial Hospital is excited to recognize that October is Health Literacy Awareness Month. At MMH, we have a team of patient education coordinators who focus on improving patient education for all patients and our community. The patient education team of coordinators works under the guidance of the Centers for Advancing Professional Excellence (CAPE) within the hospital. Midland Memorial Hospital is leading in improving health literacy with its team of nurses focused on improving patient education, health literacy, and patient equity. MMH is dedicated to improving health literacy for all patients. Understanding the importance, we have dedicated our team to some new and exciting additions to assist in our goal to further patient education for all of our patients and our community right here in Midland, TX. October is not only a month for candy, costumes, and spooky costumes but also for education and looking toward the future. As we begin our new fiscal year in October, we are looking at the changes we have made toward one of the most impactful social determinants of health: our patients' health literacy.
Health literacy continues to be a Healthy People 2030 priority area. Within the hospital as well as in our community, MMH is stepping up our efforts to reach out and increase the health literacy of all the community members of Midland County and the surrounding areas because we understand that health literacy is one of the keys to improving the health and well-being of all people. Our new video application and discharge information system provides over 750 videos in English and Spanish, creating an inclusive educational experience that our patients can view while in the hospital and at home in their preferred language with our signature QR code discharge video feature. Every inpatient receives yellow and blue discharge folders printed in Spanish and English before going home. Embedded healthcare technology assists patients in reaching their patient portal after discharge, ensuring a continuum of patient education.
Removing barriers to improving health literacy is a way to ensure patients and their family members feel confident about the information, care, and education provided to them while in our hospital. We hope to empower our patients to partner with us as their healthcare providers to start their journey to wellness, learning, and managing illness effectively together.
Health literacy is a monster in scope and, if allowed to loom, can seem like a haunted house too scary to enter. Knowing that health literacy can and will challenge our multidisciplinary team at every turn has made our first wins and future wins better than getting that king-sized candy bar from the best house on the block on Halloween night. We understand that health literacy is about mutual understanding. We are working with staff right here in the hospital, nurses at the bedside, and our community members to educate them that it happens when patients (or family, caregivers, the public, or anyone on the receiving end of health communication) and providers (clinicians, nurses, public health specialists, organizations, and others on the giving end of this communication) genuinely understand each other. As an organization, we are committed to raising awareness about health literacy, teaching strategies to help, and sharing stories about why this matters. Please join with the staff at Midland Memorial Hospital during October and celebrate Health Literacy Awareness Month.