Health Literacy Month

Proclamation

By the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama is committed to increasing the health literacy of all citizens; and

WHEREAS, federal law defines health literacy as “the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a report on health literacy issued in 2010, reported that nearly 9 out of 10 adults had difficulty using health information that is routinely available through media or in stores and health-care facilities; and

WHEREAS, more than half of the adults in Alabama experience difficulty understanding and using health information, impacting their full participation in making health decisions; and

WHEREAS, numerous residents suffer from chronic ailments that require health literacy skills to manage, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma; and

WHEREAS, persons with low health literacy are less able to make healthy lifestyle decisions that result in preventative behaviors; and

WHEREAS, people with low health literacy are twice as likely as others to be hospitalized, more likely to have chronic health issues and less likely to seek treatment; and

WHEREAS, health-care costs continue to rise, and low health literacy costs as much as $238 billion each year to an already overburdened U.S. health care system; and

WHEREAS, Governor Robert Bentley in April 2016, by Executive Order Number 18, named persons from state leadership, academia, medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, hospitals, business, philanthropic organizations, community agencies, professional and industry healthcare associations and foundations, as well as patients to serve on the Health Literacy Partnership of Alabama to explore ways to improve the health literacy of Alabamians; and

WHEREAS, the Partnership is expected to make recommendations to the Governor in the form of regulatory or statutory changes with initial recommendations due before the start of the 2017 regular session of the Alabama Legislature:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim the month of October 2016, as

Health Literacy Month

in the State of Alabama to encourage all citizens to learn more about the importance of health literacy and to become involved with health literacy efforts in their communities.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 28th day of September 2016.

Robert Bentley

Governor