Early Childhood Literacy

Expanding Reach Out and Read Program in Sonoma County

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends early literacy promotion as an essential component of pediatric care and recognizes the Reach Out and Read program as an effective intervention to prepare children to achieve their potential in school and beyond.

Through our Early Childhood Literacy Initiative, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation (SPMF) will implement the Reach Out and Read program to make literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, building upon the relationship between parents and health care providers. SPMF will bring this nationally recognized program to its Stony Circle Care Center and Hoen Avenue Pediatrics offices. Through the program, our pediatricians and nurses will encourage parents to read out loud to their children and will provide age-appropriate books to all children ages 6 months — 5 years at their well child appointments.

A child's imagination can grow beyond the pages of the storybook, building creativity, memory, and a life-long love for learning.

—Marjorie Bohn, D.O., Pediatrics