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 .

Anticipatory guidance is given.

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 .

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 .