Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) is set to host "Empower Your Wellness," a health literacy event on Friday, June 7, at noon. The event will be a lunch-and-learn opportunity to educate individuals on their medical and psychiatric diagnoses, drug prescriptions, how to communicate with healthcare professionals successfully, and how to navigate healthcare systems. The event will be at Tower Place in Monroe at 1500 N. 19th Street.
MONROE, La., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) is set to host "Empower Your Wellness," a health literacy event on Friday, June 7, at noon. The event will be a lunch-and-learn opportunity to educate individuals on their medical and psychiatric diagnoses, drug prescriptions, how to communicate with healthcare professionals successfully, and how to navigate healthcare systems. The event will be at Tower Place in Monroe at 1500 N. 19th Street.
The event's purpose is for attendees to learn how to take charge of their own health. Professionals will teach them how to ask questions about their diagnosis, reputable resources to research ailments, the importance of having a peer with them at doctor's appointments, prescriptions and drug interactions, and more. NEDHSA's mobile health unit will also be available on-site.
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 focus of the Empower Your Wellness campaign is to serve the adult population who live with primary care challenges, mental health illnesses, developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders.
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 offers counseling on prescriptions through its on-site pharmacy, Genoa, and hosts 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 are also trained to help implement consistent messaging to ensure patients understand their role in overall health and wellness.
The Empower Your Wellness campaign is 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."
To register for the attend, visit: https://empowerwellness2024.eventbrite.com.
Media Contact
DeRon Talley, NEDHSA, 318-237-9973, [email protected], www.nedeltahsa.org
SOURCE NEDHSA
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