Reach Out and Read

Reach out…and read
Suddenly, it’s easier to see why your pediatrician
might “prescribe” reading for your child. And
that’s just what Intermountain’s clinicians do,
through our Reach Out and Read program.
At each routine well-child visit through age five,
pediatricians give their young patients an ageappropriate
book. They also demonstrate for
parents how to read to their children, modeling
the importance of regular, nurturing reading
sessions together.
The program is led by Dr. Neal Davis, medical
director of Pediatrics. He explains, “Kids thrive
on routine. If we can jump-start their habit of
reading, the benefits will be lifelong. This might
not sound like healthcare, but it’s just one of
the many ways that Intermountain is getting
upstream to influence health and
solve problems before they start, to
engage people in their own health and wellbeing.
To us, ‘health’ is a little word with
a much bigger meaning.”
Dr. Davis’s books certainly did the trick for
brothers La’Mont and Carter, according to their
mom, Ebony Jiminez. “Before, La’Mont wouldn’t
necessarily care to pick up a book at home. Now
we have a bookshelf full of them. He’s boosted
his reading skill levels and passed his end-of-year
reading test with flying colors, compared to the
beginning of the year when he was reading at
kindergarten level. Now it’s him and Carter every
night, with two different books of their own. I’m
a proud and lucky mom.”