Fall Business Meeting & Luncheon

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The fall business luncheon was once again held at the Quincy Marriott Hotel. The meeting was called to order by Alumni President Clare Wohlgemuth. During the roll call of class members, beautiful red roses were given to all alumni who graduated from the class of 1959 and years prior. Reports were given by the Treasurer, Secretary and Scholarship chairman, as well as the President’s address which is also available here on the website. Election of new board members and officers was held. Re-elected were President Clare Wohlgemuth and Treasurer Peggie Mogan. The following are the new (or returning) board members for a two-year term: Christine Lucas, Cathy Kneut, and Audrey Leeping.

The business meeting continued with discussion on how to handle the BCHSNAA funds as an endowment when there are no longer active alumni. Eventually, a motion to earmark the funds to the nursing program at Boston Medical Center was passed by majority vote.

After a delicious lunch and drawing of the raffle and door prize winners, the speaker for the event was introduced.

Dr. Dan Oates, who is an attending physician at the Boston Medical Center Geriatrics unit, gave an eye-opening talk on the problem of health literacy in the general adult patient population. “Health Literacy” refers to the ability of patients to understand and utilize basic health information to make decisions about their own health care. It was shocking to find out that up to 50% of the US population has difficulty with health literacy, which increases the risk for misunderstandings, mistakes, and acute care hospitalizations. Misunderstanding important health information results in increased mortality, poor compliance, and higher health costs. 59% of adults 65 and older have only an eighth grade or lower reading ability, while health care information is normally written at a college level. 21% of adults cannot read a newspaper.

A dramatic video showed real-life examples of patients and their physicians interacting. The patients explained how they have tried to cover-up their inability to either read or understand verbal and written teaching material. During these conversations, the doctors began to realize that using medical jargon is too confusing for patients.

The end of the Dr. Oates’ talk gave some practical strategies to help patients better understand basic health instructions, including allowing the patient to ask questions, use clear explanations in layman’s terms, and limit new information to 1-3 concepts per teaching session.

Many thanks to our Alumni Board members who plan and coordinate our bi-annual luncheons!!

Marybeth Anderson, Peggie Mogan, Clare Wohlgemuth, and Pat Kimball enjoy a beverage before the luncheon	Old friends are the best!
Smiling faces after lunch
Always a great turnout for the class of '62!!	Beautiful fall raffle basket!!