A little girl sits reading at a small brightly painted table inside the waiting room at a local health clinic. A little boy approaches. He looks scared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you getting a shot too?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she replies. \u201cI\u2019m here for a book.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2008, the Montezuma County Public Health Department has partnered with Reach Out and Read to provide their patients with brand new books when they come in for immunizations and check-ups. The program helps to increase children\u2019s vocabularies, improve their chances of school success and enhance their attention span, said Laurie Monta\u00f1o, a registered nurse at the clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids love the books,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Upon entering the exam room, Monta\u00f1o said the first order of business is giving her patient a new book. Participating patients range from six months old up to five years of age, as outlined by Reach Out and Read program guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually give the kids a prescription to read,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Complete with a nurse\u2019s signature, the prescription includes the date, child\u2019s name and instructions to read every night before bed.<\/p>\n
In addition to increased childhood literacy rates, the program also helps to foster better parenting skills, Monta\u00f1o said. The direct attention a child receives when an adult holds them in their lap and reads to them enhances bonding, she affirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want children to have a positive relationship to reading,\u201d Monta\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n
Monta\u00f1o said the health department also caters to a variety of ethnic groups, providing Spanish-speaking clients with Spanish books, and even Chinese-speaking patients with books written in Chinese.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want them to speak, read and write in their native language,\u201d Monta\u00f1o said.<\/p>\n
The program is not publicly funded, but instead relies on both national and state chapters of Reach Out and Read to provide most of the books for the health department. The Cortez Kiwanis Club has also assisted with a couple of grants.<\/p>\n
Kiwanis Club treasurer Tracey Hately said the organization aims to help all youth across Montezuma County, and that the Read Out and Read program is one of many the civic club sponsors. She added that the value of early childhood literacy is paramount to the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cReach Out and Read is a great program, and that\u2019s what we are all about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While training to become a nurse, Monta\u00f1o said she never envisioned she would one day be writing prescriptions for childhood literacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cA child has to be healthy, and part of being healthy is literacy,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t get anywhere without it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southwest Memorial Primary Care, Cortez Primary Care, Mancos Valley Health and Southwest Memorial Physicians are also partners with Reach Out and Read, serving nearly 800 children under the age of 5.<\/p>\n
There are more than 200 sites participating in the program across Colorado. Nationwide, Reach Out and Read is offered at more than 5,000 health care clinics.<\/p>\n