
The Wright Center for Community Health and the Lackawanna County Literacy Committee is working with Reach Out and Read to improve literacy. Participating in a recent program, from left, are Colleen Judge and Patricia Hein, Lackawanna County Literacy Committee members; Sandie Lamanna, Lackawanna County Literacy Committee chairwoman; Dr. Manju Thomas, The Wright Center’s deputy chief medical officer and medical director of pediatrics and school- and community-based medical home services; Kara Seitzinger, The Wright Center’s executive director of public affairs and advisor liaison to the president/CEO; and Sandra A. Longo, committee member.
SCRANTON — Thanks to the support of a well-known national nonprofit, area families will be getting a little something extra during their visits with pediatricians at The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary health care centers.
In partnership with the nine-member Lackawanna County Literacy Committee, The Wright Center for Community Health has become a hub for Reach Out and Read, a national program that aims to give young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. During visits with pediatricians at The Wright Center, children ages 6 months to 5 years old will be given an age-appropriate book to keep.
“Reading is so important, and with this program, we focus on educating families on why that is,” said Dr. Manju Mary Thomas, deputy chief medical officer, medical director of pediatrics, and school- and community-based medical home services at The Wright Center. “In addition to building language skills, children can explore the colors and textures of the book. It’s all part of the child’s development.”
The Lackawanna County commissioners created the county’s literacy committee in the fall of 2022 after Sandie Lamanna, a longtime school psychologist, brought the issue of illiteracy to their attention. From the beginning, partnering with Reach Out and Read was one of the goals, said Lamanna, who serves as the county committee’s chairwoman.
According to the National Literacy Institute, 130 million adults across the country are unable to read a simple story to their children. More than 80% of a child’s brain is formed during their first three years, according to Reach Out and Read, and what they experience during this window can irreversibly affect how their brain develops. Attention and nurturing from a loving parent or caregiver support healthy brain development – and it is one of the best ways to engage young children to read books together.
“The National Institute for Child Health declared illiteracy a national health problem,” Lamanna said during a program at The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice. “Birth through age 5 are critical years where we can build a foundation before children start school.”
Bringing the Reach Out and Read Program to The Wright Center’s primary health care centers is especially important because its locations offer affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory whole-person primary health services to people of all ages regardless of their insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay. Lamanna said the links between illiteracy and poverty are clear.
Between 46% and 51% of American adults have an income well below the poverty level because of their inability to read, according to the National Literacy Institute.
Both Dr. Thomas and Lamanna point to years of peer-reviewed studies showing the positive effects of the Reach Out and Read Program. Studies show that parents who participate in the program are 2½ times more likely to read to their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and that children’s language development is improved by 3-6 months.
In celebrating the start of the Reach Out and Read Program at The Wright Center, Dr. Thomas recalled the joy of distributing books through the program at an Allentown doctor’s office where she got her start years ago.
“I handed a book to the 9-month-old, and his eyes just lit up,” the doctor said. “The mother got excited because her child was so excited.”
The program will begin at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, and eventually will be implemented at every location in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
Dr. Thomas said she’s also hoping to expand families’ access to books further by eventually putting children’s lending libraries in The Wright Center’s primary health care center waiting rooms and potentially hosting read-aloud events during clinic hours.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan is also excited about the program and its impact on families, noting that the county provides resources to residents from “the cradle to the grave.”
Lamanna echoed Gaughan’s comments, adding she’s thrilled to realize the goal of bringing the Reach Out and Read Program to the region.
“This is a really big deal to bring this here,” she said. “Reach Out and Read has been around for 30 years, and the research clearly shows it is having an impact.”
The Wright Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike with a growing network of primary health care centers throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center operates 13 locations, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.