Community Partnerships Keep Reach Out and Read a Part of Reedsburg Area Medical Center
RAMC has prescribed more than 15,000 books since 2014 and 1,700 in 2022 alone
MADISON, Wis. – Kris Houtler attended a Wisconsin Library Association conference in 2012. It was there that she heard Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD, present on Reach Out and Read. Houtler, then an assistant librarian at Reedsburg Public Library, was instantly inspired.
“At that moment, I knew I needed to bring Reach Out and Read to Reedsburg, but I could not do it alone,” Houtler said.
Once she returned from the conference, she connected with Joanna Laukant, MD, a family practice physician at Reedsburg Area Medical Center (RAMC), the RAMC Marketing Department, and Heidi Feller, a community activist for literacy and children.
With everyone committed to bringing ROR to Reedsburg, the committee started the process of obtaining the funding needed to purchase the first year of books, which is a requirement for becoming a Reach Out and Read site.
