A program that has helped thousands of kids across our Health System learn about the importance of reading is celebrating some milestone anniversaries. 2025 marks 25 years for the Reach Out & Read program at Marshfield Clinic Wausau Center and Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire.
Reach Out & Read integrates guidance about reading into pediatric practices across our Health System and the nation. Clinicians advise families about the importance of shared reading at annual wellness visits. Doctors and providers also give each child between 6 months and 5 years old a new, developmentally-appropriate book to take home with them.
Reach Out & Read was implemented at Wausau Center on April 1, 2000. Wausau Center has averaged about 1,200 well-child visits each year since then. Overall, nearly 52,000 books have gone home with patients and their families!
At Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire, the program started on October 1, 2000. The Medical Center has averaged over 2,800 well-child visits annually, meaning more than 73,000 books have been handed out over the years!
“This is a fantastic program that not only aids children with cognitive development, communication skills and creativity, but it also helps form bonds between parents and their kids,” said Dr. Sushma Thappeta, Marshfield Children’s service line medical director. “We’re grateful for how it has helped families in recent decades and look forward to its benefits in the years to come.”
Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield was the first of our clinics to implement the Reach Out & Read program. That was in 1998. Many other sites now have it in place. You can see them below, along with the dates the programs started.
- Marshfield Clinic - Chippewa Falls Center Pediatrics: 7/1/1999
- Marshfield Medical Center - Ladysmith: 7/1/1999
- Marshfield Clinic Wausau Center Pediatrics: 4/1/2000
- Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire Pediatrics: 10/1/2000
- Marshfield Medical Center - Weston Pediatrics: 9/1/2013
- Marshfield Clinic Menomonie Center: 10/1/2013
- Marshfield Clinic Bloomer Center: 11/1/2013
- Marshfield Medical Center - Neillsville: 1/1/2014
- Marshfield Medical Center - Minocqua Pediatrics: 6/1/2014
- Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire Oakwood Center: 9/1/2016
- Marshfield Medical Center - Rice Lake: 9/1/2016
- Marshfield Clinic Cornell Center: 11/1/2016
- Marshfield Clinic Hayward Center: 3/1/2017
- Marshfield Clinic Lake Hallie Center: 6/1/2017
- Marshfield Medical Center - Park Falls: 10/1/2017
- Marshfield Medical Center - Marshfield Med-Peds/Family Medicine: 1/1/2018
- Marshfield Medical Center - Stevens Point Campus: 2/27/2019
- Marshfield Clinic Phillips Center: 1/7/2020
- Marshfield Clinic Mosinee Center: 5/15/2020
- Marshfield Clinic Columbus Center: 2/27/2023
- Marshfield Clinic Waupun Center: 4/12/2023
- Marshfield Clinic Horicon Center: 4/13/2023
- Marshfield Medical Center - Beaver Dam: 4/18/2023
- Marshfield Clinic Wittenberg Center: 6/26/2023
- Marshfield Clinic Rhinelander Center: 11/12/2024
