(University of Colorado)
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Sheridan Health Services, a nurse-managed federally qualified health center with providers from the University of Colorado College of Nursing, has been promoting literacy for 20 years through a partnership with Reach Out and Read’s Colorado chapter.
Reach Out and Read gives pediatric healthcare providers books for children to receive during their pediatric visits. Children and their families take the book home and have a “prescription” for daily reading.
“We strive to improve overall literacy, health literacy, and digital literacy. This program is crucial to proactively prioritize literacy through the distribution of these multilingual books during a child’s health and wellness visit,” Sheridan Health Services Executive Director and CU Nursing Assistant Professor Erica Sherer, DNP, MSN, CNM, says.
Mia Roberts, PhD, CPNP-PC, Sheridan Health Services’ Pediatric Clinical Lead and assistant professor at CU Nursing, says each child at Sheridan receives about 14 books through the program.
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Reach Out and Read Colorado provided nearly 300,000 books in 2023, serving more than 125,000 Colorado children – including children at Sheridan Health Services.
“This program means so much to the families we serve at Sheridan,” Roberts says. “One family came to the clinic and received a book that was in the family’s primary language of Dari [also known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian] – and the father realized that it was a story he read during his own childhood. It meant so much for him to share that story with his family and to receive a book in their native language. Promoting literacy through reading also supports bonding, connection, and joy.”
Read the full article at University of Colorado here.
(Image credit: University of Colorado)