Holy Rosary Healthcare promotes the importance of reading as part of child-centered pediatric care

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Holy Rosary Healthcare, part of Intermountain Health, is continuing its partnership with Reach Out and Read, a national nonprofit that champions the positive effects of reading daily and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Dr. Steven Griffin, Holy Rosary pediatrician, leads this project with the financial support of the Holy Rosary Healthcare Foundation and private donors.   

“Reading together promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds,” shared Dr. Griffin.  

Through the program, children choose an age-appropriate book at each checkup or well-child exam. The book program is for established patients aged four months to five years old. Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 to help families make reading a part of their routines and supply the books they need to get started. This program is offered in all 50 states, providing 7 million books annually.  

The pediatric primary care team at Holy Rosary and Intermountain Health provides a holistic, child-focused care model using the newest guidelines for screening, preventive medicine, and integrating with Intermountain Health Children’s pediatric specialists.  

 Examples include introducing the “Buzzy Bee,” a distraction device to lessen painful procedures, standardized developmental screenings for early identification of areas of support for intervention, and pediatric-friendly toys and games for inpatient respiratory therapies.    

“Our pediatric care across the Holy Rosary Clinic is standardized, so no matter which provider a child sees, they will receive the same high-quality, child-centered care,” shared Dr. Griffin.