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Welcome To Our Newest Programs!
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Reliant Medical Group, Millbury
South County Pediatrics, Webster
Nashaway Pediatrics, Sterling
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Congratulations to Sites with 100% of Providers Trained!
The list of Sites with all providers (and frequently all staff members) trained continues to grow.
There are many more that are one or two providers short of this goal; if you are one of them, or aren't sure of your percentage, check out the thermometer on your myror page, and move it from red to green!
Berkshire Pediatric Associates (Pittsfield)
Brewer Nystuen Pediatric Associates (Melrose)
Brightwood Health Center (Springfield)
Brimfield Family Health Center
Brockton Pediatrics
Caring Health Center (Springfield)
Cove Pediatrics (N. Dartmouth)
Desmond Callahan Community Health Center (Orange)
Dr. Katherine J. Atkinson (Amherst)
Harvard Vanguard (Chelmsford)
Kids on the Common (Grafton)
Marlborough Pediatrics
Marlborough Primary Care
Middleboro Pediatrics
Newton Wellesley Hospital Pediatric Clinic
North Shore Community Health (Salem)
Orchard Medical Associates (Indian Orchard)
Pediatric Associates of Norwood and Franklin
Performance Pediatrics (Plymouth)
Pioneer Valley Family Medicine (Northampton)
PMG Physician Associates (Plymouth)
Reliant Medical (Milford)
Reliant Medical (Millbury)
Reliant Medical (Westboro)
South County Pediatrics (Webster)
South Cove Boston
South Cove Quincy
Stafford Pediatric Associates (Springfield)
St Vincent's Medical Group (Sterling)
Taunton School-Based Health Center
Winchendon Health Center (Winchendon)
Wing Memorial (Monson)
Reliant Medical (Westboro)
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Reach Out and Read New England
Massachusetts Newsletter
Summer 2012
Serving 344,000 Massachusetts children in 270 Locations |
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Dear Reach Out and Read Colleagues,
Summer is finally here and with it come many exciting Reach Out and Read happenings in Massachusetts. As Western Massachusetts Coordinator, it is my pleasure to be "guest editing" this edition of our newsletter, particularly since that means sharing some wonderful success stories. For example, the Berkshire United Way and Harvard Vanguard new funding partnerships will enable our Reach Out and Read programs to continue implementing our model with fewer worries about dwindling book supplies.
In addition, many of our practices have received much-needed infusions of new and gently-used books, thanks to book drives hosted by generous supporters of the program. We are so grateful to the individuals and local organizations that share their time and resources to help us ensure that the children of Massachusetts reap the lifelong benefits of being exposed to books and stories.
On behalf of the entire Massachusetts team, I would also like to thank all of our providers who have taken time out of their busy schedules to complete the required CME training. We know that free time is difficult to find, and we do appreciate you making this a priority. For those of you who have not yet had the opportunity, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Not only is the training a requirement of the program, but being able to quantify that all of our providers are properly trained is enormously helpful as we pursue potential funding opportunities.
 Best Regards and Happy Reading -Laurie Laurie S. Flynn Western Massachusetts Regional Coordinator |
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Thank You to Berkshire County United Way!
Reach Out and Read is proud to be a partner in Berkshire County's efforts to promote early childhood literacy throughout the region. In addition to educating parents and childcare givers, hosting story walks, and sponsoring summer literacy programs, the Early Childhood Think Tank and Berkshire United Way have made supporting Reach Out and Read a top priority.
Berkshire United Way recently proved just how seriously it takes this commitment. Concerned that Reach Out and Read sites were unable to implement the program consistently because of dwindling book supplies and little time to raise funds, Berkshire United Way generously granted Reach Out and Read more than $10,000 to bridge the funding gap between what our resources allow us to provide and what sites need in order to stay outfitted with books.
"At Berkshire United Way, we understand that the best way to ensure that children are prepared for success in school and in life is to expose them to books and to teach their parents about the importance of reading aloud to them from their earliest experiences," said Nancy Stoll, Director of Community Engagement and Evaluation at Berkshire United Way. "This is why we are delighted to support all of our doctors in Berkshire County who participate with Reach Out and Read. Making sure they have the books they need is a top priority in our efforts to promote early childhood literacy throughout the county."
Many, many thanks to Berkshire United Way for so generously supporting Reach Out and Read. It is wonderful to know that our providers in Berkshire County will have the books they need to administer the program consistently and that their patients will leave every well-child visit with a book in hand!
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Harvard Vanguard Supports Reach Out and Read
 Harvard Vanguard Reach Out and Read practices in Boston (Kenmore), Boston (Copley), Cambridge, Chelmsford, Medford, Somerville, and Quincy can spend a little more time thinking about literacy promotion, and a little less time fundraising now that Harvard Vanguard's pediatrics department is including support for Reach Out and Read in its budget.
Harvard Vanguard joins Reliant Healthcare in Massachusetts as well as healthcare organizations in other states, such as Minnesota's Mayo Clinic and California's Kaiser-Permanente, in providing funding for Reach Out and Read at all its participating sites. Harvard Vanguard's support for early literacy development reflects its commitment to providing pediatric primary care at the highest level, and translates into a lifelong benefit for the children they serve.
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Thank you!
Thanks to Fox 25 and The Paper Store for their support of Reach Out and Read at this summer's Zip Trips! Books collected at the recent Zip Trips in Chelsea and Hopkinton are already on their way to Reach Out and Read sites in those communities, and we look forward to delivering more as summer progresses.
 The Paper Store has a wonderful selection of high-quality books that our Sites will be proud to give to their youngest patients, and Fox shines an entertaining spotlight on the diverse communities in its listening area! Thank you to both of our valued partners!
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Show your Reach Out and Read Pride!
As we travel throughout Massachusetts visiting our sites, we see many examples of Reach Out and Read pride: stickers on doors, signs at reception desks, and posters in your literacy-rich waiting rooms. And now, you can share that pride with travelers in cyberspace! Many of our 230 practices have their own websites. Why not add information about Reach Out and Read to your page?
Not all web pages will be as rich as this one, developed by Chris Alexander, Reach Out and Read Coordinator at Children's Hospital Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, but think about including the Developmental Milestones, a video clip from our library, or patient comments about what it means to receive a book at your practice.
So, show your Reach Out and Read pride...work with your IT department to add information to your web page, or ask your Regional Coordinator for additional signs and stickers for your office.
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Family Doctors Show Their Support!
Clinton Pong, MD (left) a member of The Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, and a PGY-2 Family Medicine Resident at the Malden Family Medicine Center, presents a donation of $1000.00 to Robert Berman, RN-BC, Nurse Manager.The donation will allow the Malden Family Medicine Center to purchase needed books to give to children when they come to the center for their well visit care. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Notes from National June 2012 We need your help enhancing the impact of our program! Earlier this month we emailed an online survey to all Reach Out and Read medical providers to help us understand the challenges and lessons learned from delivering the highest quality program to our children and families. By participating in this quick survey, providers have an opportunity to help us strengthen our program; their responses will inform our strategic efforts in the coming year. The survey only takes about five minutes to complete, and will provide us with critical information to help us better support our programs and the more than 4 million children and their families who participate. We're thrilled to have received nearly 1000 completed surveys to date and we'd love to hear from as many providers as possible. If you haven't done so already, please forward this link to the providers at your program and encourage their participation: 2012 Reach Out and Read Medical Provider Survey. New deadline for progress reports! Starting with the July 2012 Progress Reports, the deadline for completing reports will be SEPTEMBER 1 ( previously September 30). Similarly, the January 2013 Progress Reports will be due March 1 (rather than March 30). This change will provide us with additional time to process data as we determine how best to allocate books to eligible sites in the fall and the spring, as well as allow us to issue our audited financial statements earlier. The July 2012 Reports will be available in myROR in early July - you'll receive an email once the reports are available. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Spring Book Drives
On May 4th The Mother Connection (TMC) held a free event for its members while collecting books for Reach Out and Read Massachusetts. There was a music performer by Music Together as well as a book themed craft table where the children made bookmarks. They collected more than 250 children's books and delivered them to the Lowell Community Health Center. TMC is a non-sectarian, non-discriminatory and non-profit volunteer organization providing information, resources, support and recreation for mothers and their children ages 0-6.
In April, during the Week of The Young Child, families at the Salmon Early Education Center in Natick collected over 300 gently-used books for Reach out and Read in Metrowest. Annie O'Brien, the director at the center, chose Reach Out and Read as the recipient of the books after learning about our mission.
When Patricia Mordas' sister moved from Weston to California, she asked Patricia to find a good home for the hundreds of children's books she hadn't been able to part with. Trish found Reach Out and Read on line and asked if we could use the books! Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center in Waltham was fortunate to receive the gently-used books from Ms. Mordas.
Giant thanks to Jo Seibel, long-time book donor and employee at Worcester Family Health Center, now at the Edward M. Kennedy CHC in Framingham. According to Jo, "My husband worked at the [then] Boston City Hospital with Perri Klass when Reach Out and Read was just starting. They were asking for books, so we passed on the books that our daughters no longer wanted to read. We love to read in our family, so I was happy to donate books. We initiated book drives when my daughters were in middle school and through the Girl Scouts." Jo asked her local library what happened to the books that they no longer wanted and soon she was collecting them as well. " I sort through the books to make sure they are in reasonable condition before passing them on. Reach Out and Read is one of my favorite organizations."
Catching Joy - The Power of Kids Helping Kids Reach Out and Read was delighted to again be the beneficiary of Catching Joy's second annual Easter brunch book drive at the RitzCarlton in Boston. Founded by Joy Surprenant, Catching Joy is a nonprofit aimed at teaching young children and their families about the "joy" of giving. At the Easter Brunch, guests were encouraged to donate new and gently-used books to Reach Out and Read; children in attendance also had the opportunity to make bookmarks to be inserted in books destined for local Reach Out and Read practices. What a wonderful opportunity for these kids to participate in a fun, hands-on activity and to experience the pleasure of helping others! Our sincere thanks to both Catching Joy and to the Ritz Carlton for hosting such a lovely and rewarding event.
More Kids Helping Kids
Alex Ricciardelli, a high school sophomore, is a volunteer reader at Lynn Community Health Center. He is pictured with Clare Hayes from the Lynn Community Health Center.
A special thank you to Emma, a student at the Amherst Regional High School, who collected more than 700 new and gently-used books to support the Reach Out and Read program at the Holyoke Health Center!
Amy Donabedian and her Brownie troop in Middleton collected more than 300 gently-used books during their recent book drive. They were delivered to an appreciative Dr. Katrin Schneck at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, who said, "Thank you! Most hildren come to our office now with the exciting expectation of receiving a book. That is wonderful. Reading is so important to grow and live healthy."
Lisa O'Sullivan from Memorial School in Medfield collected several hundred gently-used books during their book drive and donated them to the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center in Framingham.
Kudos to the Buckingham Brown and Nichols Middle School literary group, which sponsored a Read-a-thon that raised money for local Reach Out and Read practices. Beth Brooks, middle school librarian at BB&N, sent along this picture of the group!
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Volunteers Making a BIG Difference:
Nursing Students at Holyoke Community College Make Time for Reach Out and Read
Dr. Stephanie Billings held out a picture book to a little boy in diapers. He snatched it from her hand and gleefully ran back to his mother, who read it to him as she waited for a medical appointment at the Holyoke Health Center. The scene is one Billings hopes to see repeated here countless times every day.
Nursing students from HCC have been helping with that effort by reading to children during their clinical rotations and by donating hundreds of children's books they collected on campus as part of Reach Out and Read.
"The goal with every wellness visit is that every child gets to take a book home," said Alexander Pangborn, president of the HCC Nursing Club, which collected the books to fulfill the club's community service project. "It's a positive reinforcement for going and getting a checkup, but it also encourages literacy."
Pangborn and several other HCC nursing students and staff members delivered nearly 500 books to the Holyoke Health Center Friday. Billings said the Reach Out and Reach program directly supplies only about half the books the health center needs to fulfill its promise to give a free book to every child on a wellness visit, so the donation from HCC is especially
welcome.
"We love when you come to read to our patients," said Billings, a family practice doctor, "and we can always use more books."
HCC has been sending nursing students to health centers for years to read to children. It's good for the children and models good behavior for parents. "Being literate is part of being healthy," said Lorena Florek, HCC pediatric nursing instructor. "Reading is a developmental task, just like learning to walk upstairs and learning to pile up blocks."
During their clinical assignments, nursing students go into the waiting room whenever they have some down time. Pangborn said children there often occupy themselves by playing with toys and don't seem interested in the books--until someone offers to
read to them. "If you get a book and sit down, they stay engaged," he said. Building rapport also has benefits during medical appointments, when a nursing student might be the one administering injections. "When they see us in the examining room, they're more comfortable with us."
The book donation reinforces a continuing relationship between HCC and the Holyoke Health Center. Many HCC nursing students do their pediatric clinical rotations at the Holyoke Health Center and some of them worked there as medical assistants before entering the nursing program. Some may even return to the Health Center to work as nurses after graduating from HCC.
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