For most kids, a visit to the doctor probably isn’t on the top of their list of favorite things to do. But children who arrive at the Young County Family Clinic in Graham, Texas, have a little more incentive to visit the doctor these days. For each well-child visit, children get a nice surprise: an age-appropriate book they can take home.
The clinic recently joined Reach Out and Read, a literacy program that was developed in 1989 by pediatricians Barry Zuckerman and Robert Needlman at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), along with early childhood educators Jean Nigro, Kathleen MacLean, and Kathleen Fitzgerald-Rice. Annually, 3.9 million families are served by the Reach Out and Read program, and 28,000 primary care providers nationwide are part of the network that promotes the program. Studies have shown that children served by Reach Out and Read enter kindergarten with a six-month developmental edge, and have larger vocabularies and stronger language skills.
Encouraging parent involvement
During a child’s well-child exam, the clinic’s physicians and staff encourage parents to read to their children, and the children receive a book at the end of their exam. The program focuses on lower-income families who often don’t have the resources or time to encourage reading in their children.
The Young County Family Clinic, which is the only medical clinic in Graham that accepts Medicaid patients, started the program at the prompting of nurse practitioner Kim Sava, who had been involved with the program at her previous job in Amarillo, Texas.
“She said she knew how well it worked at her previous clinic, and how much the parents and children appreciated it. And then she asked us if we were willing to train,” says Dr. Pamela Aird, one of the three physicians at the Young County Family Clinic.
The providers and nurse practitioners spent an afternoon completing the Reach Out and Read training. “Every practitioner at the clinic has to take online training so that you’re familiar with how to instruct the parents on how to read books to their kids, and what books are age appropriate,” says Dr. Aird.
After the Young County Family Clinic staff was trained, Reach Out and Read sent them 1,500 books for children ages 6 months through 5 years. “Reach Out and Read encourages you to find funding for the program on your own, but if you’re not able to, they can always find people who will help fund your program,” says Sava. In the case of the Young County Family Clinic, Reach Out and Read secured funds for the books from the Meadows Foundation, a Texas organization that provides grants to improve the quality of lives for Texans. The Young County Family Clinic gives away approximately 150 books each month.
More than just reading
Dr. Aird believes that giving the children books accomplishes more than just helping them learn how to read. “If parents are reading to their children every night, the kids are developing their vocabulary. It also helps us at annual health checks to determine how the child is developing, in terms of developing language, knowing their numbers, colors, and letters. There’s lots of exploration that you can do through a book that doesn’t have to do with just reading.”
Even if the parents of the children can’t speak English, or are illiterate, the books are beneficial. “We try to choose books that will be appropriate for the child and the parents. Some have more stories to them — and some have pictures and simple words. We have books in both English and Spanish. Many books have Spanish on one side, and English on the other — so it may be a learning opportunity for the parents as well,” says Dr. Aird.
A big payoff
So far, in the few months that the clinic has been involved with Reach Out and Read, the program has been a hit. “They love it,” says Sava. “The kids just love getting a book that they can take home, and the parents are very receptive. A lot of our children don’t have parents who read to them, or the parents can’t afford a book, it’s not a priority. This way, if we start at age 6 months, and see them until age 5, the children will have a library of 10 books.”
“If parents are reading to their children every night, the kids are developing their vocabulary. It also helps us at annual health checks to determine how the child is developing...”
Dr. Pamela Aird, Young County Family Clinic
Sava and Dr. Aird encourage other Texas clinics to think about joining Reach Out and Read. “I think for the amount of time we each had to put into the training, it’s really negligible compared to the benefit it has for our patients. And the number of books Reach Out and Read sent to us, and the quality of the books, is absolutely fantastic,” says Dr. Aird.
Reach Out and Read is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatricians and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. For more information about how you can get involved, go to www.reachoutandread.org.
Other ways to give back this holiday season:
The holidays are the perfect time to reach out to those in need. Here are some other ways the Texas medical family can give back at the holidays:
» Sponsor a helmet giveaway through TMA (Texas Medical Association) Hard Hats for Little Heads program, which gives away helmets to children to prevent head injuries.
Find out more about sponsoring a helmet giveaway
» Make a holiday donation to the TMA Foundation. Your gift will go to support the TMA Foundation and TMA programs that help thousands of Texans lead healthier lives, and your designee will receive a holiday card informing him or her of your contribution made on his or her behalf. Contact the TMA Foundation at 1.800.880.1300, ext. 1664, or visit the TMA Foundation website.
How are you giving back to your community?
If you’re doing something to serve your community this holiday season, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us your story. We’ll publish your stories and ideas in a future issue of TMAIT Insights.