STATEHOUSE – State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) will be visiting the Deaconess Family Medicine Residency to take a tour of and volunteer with the Reach Out and Read program established there. She will be visiting on Friday, December 9 at 9:30 a.m. The Reach Out and Read program promotes literacy and school readiness with parents and children through doctor’s offices across the nation. The nationwide nonprofit program trains doctors and nurses to give parents the tools, guidance and encouragement they need to help their children enter school prepared for success in reading. “More than one-third of children in the U.S. enter school without the necessary skills they will need to learn to read,” said Rep. Crouch. “Multiple research studies have shown that the Reach Out and Read program significantly improves vocabulary test scores and literacy in young children whose families have participated. I hope to see this program thrive in our community and look forward to seeing it firsthand.” At every pediatric checkup from 6 months through 5 years of age, medical providers speak with parents about the importance of reading aloud to their children and give developmentally-appropriate books to patients to take home and keep. In Indiana, there is a statewide coalition of 152 Reach Out and Read programs, which currently serve 163,000 Hoosier children. Nationally, there is a network of 4,688 clinics and hospitals in all 50 states implementing Reach Out and Read, which now serves 3.9 million children and their families annually. For additional information about Reach Out and Read, you may visit their website at www.reachoutandread.org.
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