Supporting Literacy at La Clínica
Photo credit: La Clínica
For over 50 years, La Clínica has provided high-quality, multi-lingual, accessible healthcare services in the East Bay, regardless of a patient's income level or insurance status. When La Clínica was started by Berkeley students in 1971 it was a small clinical operation with only a couple hundred patients. Now they have sites in three different East Bay counties and serve nearly 100,000 patients a year.
Though their primary focus is on culturally responsive, full-scope healthcare, for many years La Clínica has also focused on encouraging a love of reading by giving out books during well-child visits. "This was often the only book they had in their house," explains Dr. Katherine F. D'Harlingue. "When we'd ask parents if they read to their kids, they'd say, 'oh yeah, that one book you gave us last year.'"
Prior to partnering with Eat. Learn. Play., La Clínica could only give out one book per child. Now, with Eat. Learn. Play.'s support, they can purchase additional books to distribute at well-child checks-ups. This year they are averaging two or more books per child, with an ultimate goal of distributing four to five books per visit. "It's energized us regarding literacy for kids," Dr. D'Harlingue shares. "The pandemic made this program even more important because so many kids have fallen way behind."
La Clínica has distributed over 4,000 books to 2,000 youth patients at two Oakland clinics in the past six months alone.
Adding a book distribution to well-child visits has had multiple benefits. La Clínica staff use the books to assess how the child is doing in school by having them read aloud during their appointment. The pediatrician can then support parents in advocating for their child and working with their child's school to improve literacy levels. La Clínica has also developed a relationship with the Oakland Public Library. Not only does each child get a library card application during their well-child visit, but a librarian provides training for the medical assistants on how to pick age-appropriate books for the kids and how to help families better engage with the books together.
With Eat. Learn. Play.'s support, La Clínica has distributed over 4,000 books to 2,000 youth patients at two Oakland clinics in the past six months alone. With new staff in place to order books and bundle them by age, they hope to double the number of books they can give to families who visit their Fruitvale Transit Village and Davis Pediatrics locations. "We have big dreams," Dr. D'Harlingue tells us. "We want to focus on early childhood literacy, connect parents with classes, and continue diversifying our book selections. It's so heartwarming seeing the kids get excited about books."