Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) announces the launch of its health literacy campaign, "Empower Your Wellness," an effort to educate individuals on their medical and psychiatric diagnoses, drug prescriptions, how to communicate with healthcare professionals successfully, and how to navigate healthcare systems.
MONROE, La., March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) announces the launch of its health literacy campaign, "Empower Your Wellness," an effort to educate individuals on their medical and psychiatric diagnoses, drug prescriptions, how to communicate with healthcare professionals successfully, and how to navigate healthcare systems. This campaign is part of NEDHSA's behavioral and primary healthcare integration model.
NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said, "The agency must stay focused on meeting the comprehensive health and social needs of vulnerable populations in Northeast Louisiana. This also means that we need vulnerable populations co-laboring with us as we seek to improve regional population health outcomes."
"We must continue to be innovative in conceptualizing issues and solving problems on behalf of, and with vulnerable people and communities in our region," Dr. Sizer said. "We also cannot forget about how negative social determinants of health drive poor primary, mental health, and addiction-related outcomes."
According to the National Institutes of Health, "Health literacy is a complex phenomenon that involves individuals, families, communities, and health systems. Health literacy encompasses the materials, environments, and challenges associated with disease prevention and health promotion."
The initial focus of the Empower Your Wellness campaign will be to serve the adult population who live with primary care challenges, mental health illnesses, developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders. NEDHSA will educate its staff and ensure that each patient has the tools to make sound healthcare decisions.
NEDHSA's Director of Integrated Care Janice Rogers said, "This means knowing the correlation between services received and medications prescribed and how it all plays a part in the individual's health outcomes."
"Health literacy provides skills that enhance and improve integrated care on a large scale," Rogers said. "We aim to focus on the whole person while ensuring individuals are actively involved in their treatment, which is a huge benefit that will produce significant outcomes."
Health literacy includes a broad range of abilities, such as reading, comprehending, sharing information, analyzing data, contemplating decisions, and taking action. Through the Empower Your Wellness campaign, NEDHSA will offer counseling on prescriptions through its onsite pharmacy, Genoa, and host seminars at its clinics to discuss topics including but not limited to nutrition, the effects of controlled substances on certain medications, and environmental risk factors. NEDHSA's staff will also be trained to help implement consistent messaging to ensure patients understand their role in overall health and wellness.
The Empower Your Wellness campaign will be available to the general public, and NEDHSA will host health literacy sessions throughout the 12-parish region of Northeast Louisiana after first engaging those inside of its growing network.
Dr. Sizer added: "At the end of the day, we want the people we serve to be healed, meaningfully connected with others, working, educated, socially responsible, have other social determinants of health needs met, and be contributing members of society."
For more information, contact Special Assistant to the Executive Director, Richardra W. Robinson at [email protected]
Media Contact
DeRon Talley, Northeast Delta HSA, 318-237-9973, [email protected], www.nedeltahsa.org
SOURCE Northeast Delta HSA
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