MAXIMUS Center for Health Literacy to Hold Conference in September

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it will bring together communication experts and decision-makers for the second annual MAXIMUS Center for Health Literacy Conference, "Plain Talk in Complex Times.” The conference, which is co-sponsored by the American Public Health Association, will take place September 22-23, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia.

"Plain Talk in Complex Times” will offer practical solutions for communicating complex health information and will also make it possible for health professionals to earn continuing education credits. The conference is a gathering of public health experts, researchers, educators, medical practitioners and professionals tasked with clearly communicating to diverse audiences. This year’s conference will focus on the key topics of Web usability and accessibility, eHealth literacy and oral communication.

Confirmed speakers and workshop presenters currently scheduled include:

• Eva Anderson, MFA, creative director and principal at Glasswing Design
• Nicole Burton, user experience expert in the Center for Excellence in Digital Government at the U.S. General Services Administration
• Christopher Gibbons, MD, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute and expert in healthcare disparities
• Juan Carlos González, translation expert and principal at Integral Linguistic Services
• Jeanne M. Hogarth, PhD, manager of the Consumer Education and Research Section, Consumer and Community Affairs, at the Federal Reserve Board
• Shannah Koss, president of Koss on Care LLC and principal of the MAXIMUS eHealth Literacy Collaborative
• Steve Krug, usability guru and author of "Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" and "Rocket Surgery Made Easy"
• Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi, MEd, clinical instructor and principal at Kurtz-Rossi & Associates
• Cary LaSheen, JD, welfare and disability expert at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice
• Kevin Pho, MD, practicing physician and social media's leading physician voice, KevinMD
• Whitney Quesenbery, author of "Storytelling for User Experience: Crafting stories for better design" and the forthcoming "Global UX"
• Janice (Ginny) Redish, PhD, author of "Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works"
• Donna Cohen Ross, senior policy advisor in the Office of the Center Director, Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification
• Debra Roter, DrPH, Johns Hopkins professor of public health and expert in physician-patient communication
• Jared Smith, of WebAIM, a leading expert on Web accessibility
• Kel Smith, digital practice lead of Euro RSCG Life Catapult/Havas Drive and principal at Anikto, LLC
• Rebecca Vargas-Jackson, MD, cultural competency expert and co-principal investigator at George Washington University
• Lois Wessel, RN, CNFP, communication expert at the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
• Christina Zarcadoolas, PhD, professor at the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and author of "Advancing Health Literacy"

"Effective communication with consumers is a critical component of public programs. This is particularly evident in public health insurance programs where governments must overcome communication and outreach challenges in order to effectively meet the requirements of the HITECH Act and the Affordable Care Act,” commented Bruce Caswell, President and General Manager of MAXIMUS Health Services. "The Plain Talk conference will serve as a great dialogue platform for sharing practical methods for reaching consumers of public programs, enabling them to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing.”

"Plain Talk in Complex Times” will take place at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel. For details about the conference, speakers, registration deadlines and continuing education credits, visit www.plaintalkconf.com. For more information about "Plain Talk in Complex Times,” follow the conference feed on Twitter @plaintalkconf or email conference organizers at plaintalkconf@maximus.com.

About the MAXIMUS Center for Health Literacy

The MAXIMUS Center for Health Literacy develops easy-to-read print materials and easy-to-use websites so that governments and public health services organizations can communicate effectively with their consumers. Find out more about the Center for Health Literacy at www.maximus.com/chl or follow us on Twitter @health_literacy.

About MAXIMUS

MAXIMUS is a leading provider of government services worldwide and is devoted to providing health and human services program management and consulting services to its clients. The Company has more than 6,500 employees located in more than 220 offices in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Additionally, MAXIMUS is included in the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.