Promoting literacy to children is essential because it helps them do well in school and continue to learn. Another important factor people may not realize is that it also helps children understand and engage in the healthcare system.
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.
CU Nursing's Mia Roberts, PhD, CPNP-PC, Sheridan Health Services’ Pediatric Clinical Lead, State Senator Jeff Bridges, and CU Nursing's Alexis Barrere, CPNP, Senior Instructor of Clinical Practice. |
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.
“Literacy is a social determinant of health, so Sheridan promotes literacy at a young age, which supports a child’s ability to succeed in school and also supports the ability to engage in our healthcare system one day,” she says.
Critical State Funding
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.
Sample of books provided to 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.”
Reach Out and Read receives state funding to help clinics across Colorado buy books at a discounted rate.
Recently, Colorado State Senators Jeff Bridges and Barbara Kirkmeyer were named to the national Reach Out and Read Honor Roll, which celebrated their work passing bipartisan state legislation to expand access to books for nearly 30 additional clinics in Colorado.
Because Sheridan Health Services is in Bridges’ district, he is very familiar with the impact the clinic has on the community and chose to accept his award at the clinic.
“With Sheridan Health Services in the community, you can see a much higher percentage of children who are on grade level reading because of the involvement of Reach Out and Read,” he says. “Sheridan does so many things, and I think the impact is measurable and demonstrable in the community.”
