St. John's Riverside Hospital Launches "Born to Read"

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Yonkers, NY (September 2024) — St. John’s Riverside Hospital is proud to announce a new partnership with Yonkers Public Library to launch “Born to Read: An Early Literacy Initiative” on September 12th at 1:30 PM at St. John’s Riverside Hospital. Founded in 1869, St. John’s Riverside Hospital is the only Maternity Services provider in the City of Yonkers. “Working with another long-standing and respected community organization was a natural opportunity for us,” said Ronald J. Corti, President & CEO of St. John’s. “What better way to help new parents get the best start for their children,” he said.

As part of Yonkers Public Library’s early literacy program 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, the Born to Read initiative gives every new parent a special care package with a board book, a Yonkers library card, early literacy development information, and additional resources to support families on their reading journey. The care packages are made possible in part from a generous gift from the Foundation for the Yonkers Public Library.

This collaboration encourages parents to read aloud to their newborns, infants, and toddlers, and to make their local library a part of their child’s and family’s development. With progress charts, celebrations, and other gamified elements, the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program creates a manageable, trackable, and achievable goal for parents charting this progress. Reading one book a day to children means they enter kindergarten having read over 1800 books!

Studies have shown that 30 minutes of reading daily can lead to measurable improvements in physical health, such as reductions in blood pressure and heart rate. Overall, reading contributes to a healthier body. It is beneficial not only for the little ones but also for the parents, providing valuable bonding time, creating lasting memories and reinforcing the parent-child relationship. Other proven benefits include cognitive, social and emotional development, improved vocabulary and language skills, fostering imagination and love of learning, and future academic success.

The launch event will continue at 1:45 PM with remarks from distinguished speakers, who will underscore the significance of early literacy and the positive effects of this initiative on the Yonkers community. Jesse Montero, Library Director states "We are thrilled about this partnership. As trusted experts in maternal child health, there is no better messenger on the value of reading in early childhood than the staff of St. John's Riverside Hospital."

For more information about the “Born to Read” initiative and the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program, please visit ypl.org/1000books or contact Jesse Montero, jmontero@ypl.org.

About St. John’s Riverside Hospital

St. John’s Riverside Hospital has been an integral part of its community since the 1869 and its commitment to providing the most advanced medical services available continues to be part of St. John's vision, mission, and values. St. John's built itself on an early foundation of nursing and community service. In 1894, the Cochran School of Nursing, the oldest hospital-based school of nursing in the metropolitan area, was founded, making the St. John's Nursing staff the backbone of the hospital. Approximately 400 physicians, representing almost every medical and surgical specialty, choose St. John’s for their patients’ care. St. John’s is a 3-campus hospital that includes St. John’s Andrus, Dobbs Ferry and ParkCare Pavilions. In addition, St. John’s serves behavioral health outpatients in Greenburgh and Mount Vernon. St. John’s is affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center. Please visit us on the web at RiversideHealth.org. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on X and Instagram. Check us out on YouTube and LinkedIn.

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