EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 18

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

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”;

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;

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;

WHEREAS, health-care costs continue to rise, and low health literacy is estimated to have added as much as $238 billion of costs to an already overburdened U.S. health care system; and

WHEREAS, the Institute of Medicine has proposed a national action plan that provides a framework for creating a Health Literacy Partnership for Alabama.

NOW, THEREFORE, based upon these considerations, and for other good and valid reasons related thereto, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of the State of Alabama, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Alabama, do hereby establish the Health Literacy Partnership of Alabama (“Partnership”) to include:

  1. Joy Deupree, director of professional development and assistant professor, UAB School of Nursing; a Robert Wood Johnson executive nurse fellow; Partnership chair
  2. Nancy E. Dunlap, professor emeritus of medicine, the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Partnership vice chair
  3. John Beard, president and chairman, Alacare Home Health and Hospice Services, Inc.
  4. Peggy Benson, executive officer, Alabama Board of Nursing
  5. Cynthia Bisbee, executive director, The Wellness Coalition, Montgomery
  6. Rosemary Blackmon, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Alabama Hospital Association
  7. Jim Carnes, policy director, Alabama Arise
  8. Michael Crouch, dean and professor, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University
  9. Chanda Crutcher, chief executive officer, American Senior Assistance Programs, Inc.
  10. Conan Davis, assistant dean for community collaborations and public health, UAB School of Dentistry
  11. Ann Gakumo, assistant professor, UAB School of Nursing; Robert Wood Johnson nurse faculty scholar
  12. Leah Garner, director of governmental affairs and advocacy, the Business Council of Alabama
  13. Anne Hails, associate state director of community outreach, AARP Alabama
  14. Paul Kennedy, president, Walker Area Community Foundation
  15. Kathleen Ladner, co-leader, Alabama Health Action Coalition; adjunct associate professor at UAB School of Nursing
  16. Patricia Marincic, associate professor, director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University
  17. Tom Miller, state health officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
  18. Margaret Morton, executive director, Sylacauga Alliance of Family Enhancement Family Services Center; president, advisory committee, Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers
  19. Nan Priest, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, St. Vincent’s Health System
  20. Anne Schmidt, associate medical director, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama
  21. Wesley Smith, chief executive officer, Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation
  22. John Stone, manager, community action, Children’s of Alabama
  23. Darlene Traffanstedt, member, State Committee of Public Health; physician
  24. April Weaver, chair, Health Committee, Alabama House of Representatives
  25. Deborah Wesley, chief nursing officer, Children’s of Alabama
  26. Jackie Wuska, president and chief executive officer, The United Way of West Alabama
  27. Additional appointments as the Governor deems necessary

Each member of the Partnership shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

BE IT ORDERED, that the Partnership shall recommend to the Governor ways to improve the health literacy of Alabamians. Recommendations may take the form of regulatory or statutory changes, with initial recommendations due before the start of the 2017 regular session of the Alabama Legislature.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, that the chair of the Partnership may create an executive committee, as well as other committees, that may bring recommendations to the full Partnership for its review.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, that the Partnership shall adopt rules governing times and places for meetings and the manner of conducting its business. The Partnership and any committee of the partnership may meet by teleconference. All partnership members shall serve without compensation.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, that this Executive Order shall become effective immediately upon signing and shall remain in force until such time it is modified or rescinded by the Governor.

DONE AND ORDERED this 20th day of April, 2016.

Robert Bentley
Governor

ATTEST:

John H. Merrill
Secretary of State

 

Provided by the Office of the Governor of Alabama | governor.alabama.gov