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give a multitude of excuses,” she said. “The
bottom line is they say they’ve made it this long
and they’re not going back to school to learn
how to read.”
Patients come to the clinic from throughut the
county and many do not have medical insurance.
They know or suspect they are diabetic because
of their family histories, said Dr. Ruth McCaffrey,
DNP, a nurse practitioner, and immediate past
chair of Lumpkin Literacy.
“
Lumpkin Literacy also provides individual
tutoring services and has a successful
partnership with Lanier Technical College
at its Dahlonega campus. In 2017, the
program had six students who received a
GED. By June 30, 2019, Lumpkin Literacy
anticipates 67 students will receive their
GED.
Working with the #LumpkinMatters coalition
has helped us reach more people in the county
struggling with low literacy.
“We'll do baseline blood work that day and have
them come back in one week or two weeks. Then
I sit with them as patients and we write out a
plan for them in language that they can easily
understand,” Dr. McCaffrey added. “We also
make sure they understand how to take their
medications. Then we talk about diet and
Pat Wozny (left) and Ruth McCaffrey, right) accept a
literacy grant for Lumpkin County from Dollar General.
20
nutrition and ask them to take pictures of
the food on their plates so we can see
what they are eating.”
”
Wozny attributes the success of the
program to the outreach they do in
communities around the state with local
partners. Two of those partners include the
local Family Connection collaborative and
#LumpkinMatters, a Healthcare Georgia
Foundation Two Georgias Initiative
grantee, working to improve healthcare
access and services for Lumpkin County
residents. “These partnerships have helped
us reach more people who really need our
services,” she said.
Literacy Lumpkin also participates in the
Dolly Parton Imagination Library that puts
books into the hands of 800 Lumpkin
County pre-school children every month to
help them be “reading ready” when they
begin kindergarten. “I think that will be
our biggest impact,” said Wozny. ◼
HEALTHCARE GEORGIA FOUNDATION