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June 2013: Getting books from the doctor will soon be a routine part of regular pediatric checkups at Lorain County Health & Dentistry, as doctors and nurses welcome the Reach Out and Read program to the practice. Lorain County Health & Dentistry joins nearly 5,000 program sites nationwide that are preparing America’s youngest children to succeed in school.
Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals incorporate Reach Out and Read's evidence-based model into regular pediatric checkups, by advising parents about the importance of reading aloud and giving developmentally-appropriate books to children.
The program begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age 5, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities. Families served by Reach Out and Read learn to read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills, better prepared to achieve their potential.
Pediatric healthcare providers are trained in the three-part Reach Out and Read model to promote early literacy and school readiness:
• In the exam room, doctors and nurses speak with parents about the importance of reading aloud to their young children every day, and offer age-appropriate tips and encouragement.
• The pediatric primary care provider gives every child 6 months through 5 years old a new, developmentally-appropriate children's book to take home and keep.
• In the waiting room, displays, information, and books create a literacy-rich environment. Volunteer readers entertain children, modeling for parents the pleasures - and techniques - of reading aloud.
“Reach Out and Read is such an efficient and effective concept,” said Reach Out and Read Executive Director Anne-Marie Fitzgerald. “Childhood development experts tell us that the most important thing that parents can do to prepare their children to succeed in school is to read aloud to them every day. Promoting early literacy and school readiness through regular pediatric checkups is a simple model that has a lasting, invaluable impact on the life of a child.”
Reach Out and Read is a proven intervention that delivers results, and is supported by 15 independent, published research studies. During the preschool years, children served by Reach Out and Read score three to six months ahead of their non-Reach Out and Read peers on vocabulary tests. These foundational language skills help start children on a path of success when they enter school.
“We are so pleased to be a Reach Out and Read site. What a great opportunity to encourage and engage families to read together. Lorain County Health & Dentistry not only provides high quality medical and dental care, but now through Reach Out and Read we can influence our patients’ ability to excel in school.”—Robyn Miklovich, CNP, Chief Clinical Officer.
For more information about Reach Out and Read at Lorain County Health & Dentistry or if you would like to donate funds or volunteer as a reader, contact Katie Burke at (440) -240-1655.
Editor’s Note: About Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based, national nonprofit organization that prepares America’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. The end goal of Reach Out and Read is to prepare all children to enter kindergarten ready to read, learn, and succeed. The Reach Out and Read model is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the program has one of the strongest records of research support of any primary care intervention. This year, Reach Out and Read’s 12,000 volunteer medical providers will distribute 6.5 million new books to more than 4 million children at nearly 5,000 healthcare locations in all 50 states.
For more information, please visit the new Reach Out and Read website at www.reachoutandread.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reachoutandread and follow us on Twitter @reachoutandread.
About Lorain County Health & Dentistry
Since 2002, Lorain County Health & Dentistry, a Federally Qualified Health Center, has provided primary and preventative health care to people of Lorain County, Ohio and surrounding areas regardless of ability to pay. LCH&D offers prenatal/women's health care, pediatrics, family/adult medicine, podiatry, asthma/allergy care, and general dentistry. The health center operates three locations in Lorain and Elyria, and specifically seeks to serve low income, uninsured and underserved persons. Enabling services include outreach and community support, translation, and assistance with prescriptions and transportation. Fees are discounted for uninsured patients who qualify (based on Federal Poverty Guidelines).
For more information about services or discounted fees, call (440) 240-1655 or visit www.lorainhealth-dentistry.org.
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