Reach Out and Read

Promoting Literacy at Kaiser Santa Rosa

Books, reading and fun in Pediatrics at the Santa Rosa Medical Center: Volunteers read in the waiting room and children six months to five years receive a new book at every well-check visit. The program - Reach Out and Read- is a national effort to prepare children for school.

The program was designed by a team of pediatricians and early childhood educators from Boston Medical Center in 1989. It integrates parent education about literacy development into regular pediatric care for children between the ages of six months and five years, taking advantage of regularly scheduled well-child visits to reach parents of young children before they enter school.

Kaiser Santa Rosa became a Reach Out and Read site in June 2001. When your child visits his/her pediatrician for a regular well child exam between the age of six months and 5 years of age he/she will be given a developmentally and culturally appropriate book as a gift. The immediate goal of Reach Out and Read is for the children to begin incorporating these books as a source of entertainment as they accumulate a library of books.

Dr. Morales and pediatric manager Denise Lincoln, R.N. direct the program here at Santa Rosa. ''The program makes reading fun as it prepares children to enter school,'' says Lincoln. ''It also makes children healthier, because research shows that reading out loud to infants and young children stimulates brain growth and language skills, and strengthens the bond between parent and child.''

We gladly accept donations of new and gently used books, as well as contributions to buy new books. We always need volunteers to read to children in our pediatric waiting room.

Check out the Reach Out and Read National Web Site

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