Pediatric clinic to promote reading, seeks donations of used books

Beginning this month, children visiting the UNMC/NHS Pediatric Clinic will get a dose of literacy promotion as part of their primary care.

The clinic will introduce the national Reach Out and Read Program Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. in the Durham Outpatient Center Pediatrics Clinic, Room 4615.

Get Involved UNMC/NHS/UMA employees are encouraged to donate “gently used” books to the clinic, which will be given to siblings who come to the clinic with the patient. Books may be dropped off at the Pediatric Clinic, Room 4615, or mailed through campus ZIP to 9400. Anyone interested in being a volunteer reader should contact NHS Volunteer Services at 559-4162.

Founded in 1989 at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), the program makes early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care. Pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud to their young children and give books to their patients to take home at all pediatric check-ups from six months to five years of age. The program, now located in all 50 states, helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children can enter school prepared for success in reading. Special attention is given to children from low-income and underserved families.

“The physician’s office is where every kid goes during their first five years of life so it’s one place we can capture kids and spark a love of books and reading,” said John Walburn, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics. “Research shows that society’s health does not depend on medical resources, but the educational level of that society.”

Thanks to a grant, the clinic, which sees approximately 750 newborns each year, will give new, age-appropriate books to children during their well-child checkup. UNMC/NHS/UMA employees are encouraged to donate “gently used” books to the clinic, which will be given to siblings who come to the clinic with the patient.

Pediatricians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners will be trained in the Reach Out and Read strategies of pediatric literacy. In addition, pediatricians will encourage parents to read aloud to their young children and will offer age-appropriate tips. Volunteers will read aloud to children in the waiting rooms to show parents and children the pleasures and techniques of looking at books together.

Anyone interested in being a volunteer reader should contact NHS Volunteer Services at 559-4162. The clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m; Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Books may be dropped off anytime at the Pediatric Clinic, Room 4615, or mailed through campus ZIP to 9400. For more information about the national reading program, visit www.reachoutandread.com.