Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut is in a new partnership with Read to Grow and its Newborn Literacy Project, which provides early literacy resources for families from the very start of life. Families welcoming a baby at Greenwich Hospital will now receive a newborn book packet and be invited to enroll in Read to Grow’s First Year Project, which provides additional books and literacy support at key developmental milestones, including three months and one year.
“Greenwich Hospital is committed to supporting families from their very first moments together,” said Bob Blenderman, PA, president, Greenwich Hospital. “Our partnership with Read to Grow strengthens that mission. I’m especially proud of our amazing maternity team, whose compassion and expertise make these meaningful connections possible. Together, we’re helping every baby born at the hospital begin life with the tools to learn, grow and thrive.”
A launch ceremony was held to mark the milestone and, in addition to Blenderman, featured remarks from Kirsten Lawrence, M.D., maternal-fetal medicine, Greenwich Hospital and Suzannah Holsenbeck, executive director of Read to Grow. The Read to Grow Bookmobile was on site as well, providing free children’s books to those in attendance.
“Reading brings understanding and empathy,” Lawrence said. “It opens our minds and our hearts to other people and different languages and worlds. We know about empathy and compassion at Greenwich Hospital because that is what we live in every day. This will help extend our relationships with the families we help here.”
Read to Grow works closely with hospital medical teams, offering training for nurses and other health-care professionals on the importance of reading, singing, and talking with newborns. Once trained, these health-care providers work directly with families in the hospital, sharing simple, practical strategies that empower parents and caregivers to become their child’s first teacher from day one.
“We are excited to bring the Newborn Literacy Project to another outstanding hospital and community,” said Holsenbeck. “By partnering with trusted health-care providers to connect families with books and guidance from day one, we are helping to build strong foundations for learning, bonding and healthy development. In Connecticut, every new family should be given these vital tools to become their child’s first teacher.”
Greenwich Hospital, a member of Yale New Haven Health, is a 206-bed community hospital serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. It is an academic affiliate of Yale School of Medicine. Since opening in 1903, Greenwich Hospital has evolved into a progressive medical center and teaching institution representing all medical specialties and offering a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic and wellness programs. Greenwich Hospital is recognized throughout the health-care industry as a leader in service and patient satisfaction excellence, and it has the prestigious Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence.
Read to Grow is a literacy nonprofit that operates statewide, providing more than 120,000 books a year to children and families through three programs: Books for Babies, Books for Kids and the Bookmobile. Supporting parents as their child’s first and most important teacher, Read to Grow is committed to the power of literacy to change lives and to the vision that all children deserve books of their own.
