Westside Family Healthcare offers a new book to promote childhood literacy


(Delaware Public Media)

Westside Family Healthcare releases a children’s book to encourage childhood literacy.

Captain Westside and the Health Heroes: Caring for Delaware’s Families! was unveiled at Wilmington Public Library Wednesday.

It tells the story of a girl named Carmen going to the doctor’s office and learning about the forms of care doctors provide, from routine check-ups to dental care to mental health maintenance.

Westside plans to initially distribute 6,000 books through the National Reach Out and Read Program, which provides books to children as a part of their routine check-ups.

“It’s about not only what happens in an exam room between a provider or clinician, a pediatrician and a patient and a family, but what goes beyond the exam room,” Kyu Rhee (President of the National Association of Community Health Centers) said. “It’s almost like a literacy shot. So the investment we’re making, these literary vaccinations, to promote literacy and prevent illiteracy, the impact is so important.”

Read the full article at Delaware Public Media here.

(Image credit: Delaware Public Media)