Community Health Programs
Reach Out and Read Program EMELIN MARTINEZ • Program Manager • emm9016@nyp.org DODI MEYER, MD • Medical Director • ddm11@cumc.columbia.edu Mission and Goals
Reach Out and Read is a national hospital-based program that trains and supports medical providers who give books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud at each well-child visit until the patient reaches six years of age. The ROR program of NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Irving Medical Center is one of the largest in New York State. Foster grandparents read to children in waiting rooms at all sites, and volunteers model reading techniques to children in the waiting room. Books are distributed. At each wellchild visit, a patient age six months to five years receives a new culturally and developmentally appropriate book. nticipatory guidance is given. A Pediatricians underscore reading aloud to a child as an essential activity that helps children develop strong literacy skills. Volunteers model and motivate. Provide a positive reading experience while demonstrating read-aloud techniques in the presence of patients’ caregivers. Underscore reading as an engaging activity for children that makes the waiting room ambience more pleasant.
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Number of People Reached
• Nearly 10,000 patients throughout 11,330 well-child visits among five Pediatric Ambulatory Care Network sites • A total of 12,932 books were disseminated by medical providers to patients during well-child visits Three foster grandparents and two college volunteers read aloud to pediatric patients and model family literacy strategies to pediatric caregivers in the waiting room. In 2019, the ROR foster grandmothers and volunteers served 580 hours.
Underscore reading as an engaging activity for children that makes the waiting room ambience more pleasant.
