WASHINGTON, DC – June 30, 2008 – Doctors and medical staff at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Chelmsford are sending their youngest patients home with free books and important advice for their parents – “Read to your children every day.”  Today, U.S. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (MA-05) visited the multi-specialty medical practice and read to a group of young children, emphasizing the importance of reading aloud.

Several Harvard Vanguard practices in Massachusetts participate in Reach Out and Read (ROR), a national children’s literacy program that focuses on young children at risk of entering school unprepared to learn. At every checkup, clinicians in ROR guide and encourage parents to read aloud to their young children every day, and give each child a carefully selected new, developmentally and culturally appropriate book.  By the time that child enters school, he or she will have a home library of up to 10 books.

Reach Out and Read has one of the strongest records of research support of any school readiness intervention. Studies show that parents who get books and counseling on reading aloud from their doctors and nurses are more likely to read to their young children, read to them more often, and provide more books in the home. Children exposed to Reach Out and Read show improved language development, giving a child as young as 2-year-old a 6 month head start developmentally.

The program has gained broad bipartisan support in Congress, and Congresswoman Tsongas has been a leading advocate for the program’s state funding.  “Congresswoman Tsongas has been a terrific champion for Reach Out and Read,” said Dr. Barry Zuckerman, founder and CEO of the program.  “We’re grateful for her leadership on behalf of young children in her district and across the country.”

"I was so pleased to visit Chelmsford this morning to share some books and stories with children at Harvard Vanguard," said Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.  "Reading to infants, toddlers, and young children every day is a critically important component of early childhood development and contributes greatly to a child's ability to arrive at school ready to lean and achieve.  Reach Out and Read distributes thousands of books to children in our area each year in support of this worthy goal, and I am proud to support this outstanding program."

Harvard Vanguard’s Chelmsford practice, which became a Reach Out and Read site in 2005, is one of 11 ROR sites in Congresswoman Tsongas’ District.  Those sites together provide books to more than 10,600 children every year. Reach Out and Read serves children at 223 locations across the state, reaching more than 171,414 infants, toddlers and preschoolers each year.

 Nationally, thousands of doctors this year will give 5.4 million new books to 3.3 million low-income families at more than 3,797 health care sites nationwide. Reach Out and Read serves about 25 percent of America’s at-risk infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Reach Out and Read was the only American literacy program featured at the recent White House Conference on Global Literacy.

 Since it was founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read has trained more than 50,000 doctors and nurses who have given over 20 million books to children in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. International programs modeled on Reach Out and Read have been started in Bangladesh, Italy, Israel, the Philippines, England, and Canada. For more information, please visit www.reachoutandread.org. 

About Reach Out and Read
Reach Out and Read is a national, non-profit children’s literacy program that works with medical providers to reach the children at greatest risk – children aged 6 months to 5 years living at or near poverty. Medical providers participating in Reach Out and Read give books to their youngest low-income patients at check-ups and advise their parents about the importance of reading. More than 20 million books have been distributed through Reach Out and Read, which currently serves 25 percent of the most impoverished children in the U.S. The only American literacy program featured at the recent White House Conference on Global Literacy, Reach Out and Read is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Reach Out and Read has one of the strongest records of research support of any primary care intervention. Peer-reviewed studies indicate that parents who get books and literacy counseling from their doctors and nurses are more likely to read to their young children, read to them more often, and provide more books in the home. Low-income children exposed to the program have shown improvements in language development, a critical component of school readiness. Children who participate in Reach Out and Read score 4 to 8 points higher on vocabulary tests, giving 2-year-olds a 6 month head start developmentally.

Reach Out and Read is working to make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care. More than 50,000 doctors and nurses have been trained by Reach Out and Read since its founding in 1989. This year Reach Out and Read will provide 5.4 million new books to 3.3 million children at 3,797 health care sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. International programs modeled on Reach Out and Read have been started in Italy, Israel, the Philippines, England, Bangladesh and Canada. UNESCO awarded Reach Out and Read an international 2007 Confucius Prize for Literacy in recognition of its particularly effective contribution to the fight against illiteracy. For further information, please visit Reach Out and Read’s website at www.reachoutandread.org.


About Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates is a multi-specialty medical practice with many convenient locations in eastern Massachusetts. Harvard Vanguard is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and its physicians are on the staff of Boston's leading academic medical centers and community hospitals, including Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Children's Hospital.  Harvard Vanguard physicians have been on the forefront of quality improvement in adult and pediatric patient care for over three decades and continue to receive among the highest ratings for care quality in Massachusetts.  Harvard Vanguard physicians and clinicians accept insurance from most major health plans, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Fallon Community Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Neighborhood Health Plan, Tufts Health Plan and Tufts Medicare Preferred. Harvard Vanguard is an affiliate of Atrius Health (www.atriushealth.org).  For more information, visit www.harvardvanguard.org