Local pediatric clinic gets Sesame Street reading corners from UnitedHealthcare

Published 12:00 pm Sunday, February 1, 2015

AMERICUS — UnitedHealthcare is donating Sesame Street reading corners to 14 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) throughout Georgia to encourage young children to read and learn more about healthy living. Among the recipients is Southwest Georgia Pediatric Clinic in Americus.

Sesame Street reading corners provide children visiting their doctors’ offices with a colorful place filled with age-appropriate books that encourage reading, teach healthy-eating habits and help make the visits more enjoyable.

UnitedHealthcare employees are delivering and setting up the reading corners in 11 counties, helping assemble tables and chairs, decorate the spaces, provide the children’s books, and supply the doctor’s office with important health and nutrition information.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to provide Sesame Street reading corners to so many health centers as an important learning resource for children in Georgia,” said Jocelyn Chisholm Carter of UnitedHealthcare. “Reading to children at a young age is critical to developing literacy and lifelong learning skills.”

According to The Children’s Reading Foundation, parents who read with their children 20 minutes a day from birth through elementary school help them become more proficient readers, and build strong minds and strong relationships.

The donations are part of UnitedHealthcare’s Healthy Habits for Life partnership with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, which offers tools and resources to help parents and caregivers gain a greater understanding of the relationship between healthy habits and children’s healthy growth. The program supports UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to helping people live healthier lives through education in fun, innovative ways and supports Sesame’s mission to help all kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder.

FQHCs provide comprehensive health services, including dental, vision and mental health services, in a single location. For more than 45 years they have been ranked among the highest-quality and cost-effective care providers in the nation – a proven model that has delivered better access and cost-savings, and provided jobs and helped people live healthier lives. UnitedHealthcare helps support Health Centers through a broad network of dedicated health care specialists and hospitals.

According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, in 2012 Georgia FQHCs served more than 320,000 patients, or about 1 in 31 Georgians. Since 2000, Georgia FQHCs have seen a 74 percent increase in total patients and a 92 percent increase in uninsured patients, according to the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care.