October 22, 2008
Reach Out and Read Program at FamilyCare Doctors receives two $1,000 grants
FamilyCare Doctors, a service of Marquette General Health System, has received two separate $1,000 grants through the Upper Peninsula Health Education Corporation to continue participating in the Reach Out and Read program.
In April 2008, FamilyCare Doctors become a participant in the nationwide ROR program. As part of the ROR program, the staff at FamilyCare Doctors distribute new books to children ages six months to five years and offer reading tips to parents during routine well-child visits. In addition, volunteers are available periodically to read with children in the waiting area. By providing parents with the information, support and materials they need to make books a part of their children’s lives, children learn to love books and begin school ready to learn to read.
“The staff at FamilyCare Doctors have been very supportive of this program since its initiation, so we sought funding to help acquire more books and help continue the initiative,” said Dr. David Luoma, UPHEC CEO, and family medicine specialist at FamilyCare Doctors.
Medical research shows that literacy promotion by the physician has a significant effect on parental behaviors, beliefs and attitudes toward reading aloud. For more than a decade, studies have indicated that parents who get books and literacy counseling from their doctors and nurses are more likely to read to their children, read to them more often, and provide more books in the home. In addition, studies have shown improvements in the language scores of young children receiving Reach Out and Read.
For more information about Reach Out and Read at FamilyCare Doctors, or if you would like to make a donation or volunteer as a reader, please contact Rachel Cole at (906) 225-3864.
Research has shown that literacy is closely linked to health status and Marquette General participates in other literacy programs such as Newborn Rock and Read and Northern Michigan University’s “One Book, One Community” project.
Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit program working to make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so that children grow up with books and a love of reading. Reach Out and Read trains physicians and employees to be effective in encouraging and modeling ways parents can interact with their children using age-appropriate books. This year Reach Out and Read will provide more than 3 million books to more than 2 million children, with more than 2,220 programs throughout the country.
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