News & Events

March 15, 2008

Foundation Joins National Voices Calling for Health Literacy

Community health literacy initiatives around the country are attracting interest from educators, health care providers, funders and various community leaders. The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland is participating in national and regional conferences this Spring that will share models, resources and success stories.

Kym Hemley, Program Officer for Health, was among the panelists at Read, Rattle & Roll!, the first national community literacy leadership conference. Held March 12-14, 2008 in Memphis, TN, the meeting was sponsored by Literacy Powerline and Mid-South Reads. Ms. Hemley participated in a session titled “Health and Literacy: The Power of Partnerships” that was facilitated by Elyse Barbell, Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center in New York City.

Speakers at the Health Literacy Summit in Indianapolis, IN on March 25-26, 2008 will include the Evaluation Coordinator for the Foundation’s Health Literacy Initiative, Rutgers University Associate Professor Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D. The event is hosted by the National Institute for Literacy - Regional Resource Center 1 in conjunction with the Ohio Literacy Resource Center. The National Institute for Literacy is a federal agency providing leadership on literacy issues. The Summit aims to provide state partners and local practitioners with research-based information and resources for implementing health literacy programming. For details, contact Kaye Beall at World Education in Boston, MA.

Ms. Hemley will also participate in a National Town Hall Meeting – Approaches for Improving Health Literacy – in St. Louis, MO on May 16, 2008. She was involved in the planning for the event which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). The invitation-only event will explore promising practices and lessons learned to improve health literacy in the Midwest. For more information, contact MFH.

About The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland serves as a grantmaker, collaborator and advocate for non-profit organizations primarily focused on addressing causes and consequences of poverty. In 2006, the Sisters of Charity Foundation joined with the Saint Ann Foundation - America’s first “healthcare conversion” foundation - to form a single organization. The combined Foundation has awarded more than $52 million in grants through 2006.

Current funding priorities for the Sisters of Charity Foundation across Cuyahoga County include initiatives to reduce chronic homelessness through permanent supportive housing and reduce health disparities by improving health literacy. Special emphasis is given to Cleveland’s Central neighborhood where disparities in health and education are among the city’s highest.

The Foundation also works to build awareness of the many contributions of Catholic women religious and to support their vital health and human service ministries supports congregations of Catholic women religious (primarily in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina). In addition, local efforts responding to basic human needs such as food or clothing are eligible for the annual Good Samaritan grant program.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland was established by the Sisters of Charity Health System in 1996 through sale proceeds involving St. Vincent Charity Hospital, which has been located in the Central Neighborhood for more than 145 years.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine established the Saint Ann Foundation in 1973 with funds from the sale of Saint Ann Hospital which served Cleveland women and children for 100 years.

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