Kids get books during checkups

MOSES LAKE— For Jill Simon, the best part of giving books to children is watching their face light up, she said.

“It’s so much fun to see their big smiles,” said Simon, Moses Lake Community Health Center physician. “It’s a great feeling to know I am helping their literacy.”

Simon is the leader of the health center’s Reach out and Read program. She is currently sending donation requests to local businesses.

“All funds donated to the program are used to purchase books,” Simon said. “More funds are needed to meet the demand for books at our health center.”

The average cost for each book given is $3, totaling about $12,000 a year.

Reach out and Read is a national non-profit organization promoting literacy during part of pediatric primary care, according to its Web site. The health center begin participation last November.

The center learned about the program from Quincy Valley Hospital staff when they implemented the program a couple years ago. Simon applied for the program because of her belief in the positive outcomes of reading, she said.  

“Kids who aren’t read to, develop language at a slower pace and it also slows their progress in school,” Simon said. “Children who are read to, develop higher receptive and expressive language scores, which by age two correlates with later cognitive performance.”

Physicians give a brand new, age-appropriate book to each child, age 6 months to 5 years, when they come in for regular checkups. The clinic performs approximately 3,500 checkups a year, stated Simon. The children are all local to Moses Lake and the surrounding cities and towns.

“Most of the children we treat come from low income families and don’t have many books around the house,” Simon said. “Handing out books is an easy thing to do and it makes a big impact to an amazing number of people.”

With every book given, a medical provider gives a brief statement about the importance of reading.

“When we are working with children, it is a natural part of their medical visit to also enhance their education,” said chief executive officer, Sheila Chilson. “It gives them the tools they need to increase their knowledge and to know what opportunities are available to them.”

Parents also benefit from the program.

“This is an activity that parents can do with their children,” Chilson said. “When parents read to a child it shows the child the importance of reading.”

Studies done by the Reach Out and Read program indicate this system is effective because it causes children to have a more positive attitude toward reading, said Simon.

“Reading is essential to learning, it is the foundation,” Chilson said.

Moses Lake Community Health Center plans to eventually expand their program by having a volunteer read to children in the waiting rooms. Staff also hopes to be able to order many different kinds of books at a time.

“Having a variety of books available does more than just increase literacy and vocabulary,” Simon said. “It opens up new worlds and ideas for children.”

Moses Lake Community Health Center is located at 605 Coolidge Drive in Moses Lake. For more information, call 509-765-0674.