Provencher Pediatrics: An Early Words clinic tells its story

Community-based pediatrician Dr. Rachael Gardner has always been passionate about the connection between healthcare and literacy. Since starting practice seven years ago, she has focused on guiding her patients in supporting their child’s development through building word-rich environments.

She was excited to learn how the Early Words program could enhance her literacy efforts by providing her clinic with resources and books for families.

Provencher Pediatrics, a family-run clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is one of this year’s newest Early Words sites. Dr. Gardner leads the clinic with her husband Daniel O’Halloran, who serves as clinic manager. Occasionally, their seven-year-old daughter Lucy takes the Early Words inventory, a process she describes as “easy.”

When the clinic participated in a pre-survey measuring families’ awareness of early literacy, Dr. Gardner was shocked by the results: only 14% of respondents could recall hearing her talk about the importance of talking, singing, and reading. “I realized that as much as I’m passionate about talking about literacy, I need to actually be doing it every time.”

Since Provencher has started delivering the Early Words program, Dr. Gardner has seen a shift in her own approach to literacy counselling.

She can already see the program’s impact: after just six months, 92% of families surveyed can now recall hearing Dr. Gardner talking about the importance of talking, singing, and reading.

Families who previously did not know they could start reading to their children at such a young age are visibly finding joy in the act of sharing books. “It’s been really nice seeing patients come back with that memory of having got a book, and hearing how they enjoyed it. That definitely sticks out for me: people reporting back how interested in the book their baby was, and how surprised they were by that, or even that they started reading a little bit more with a sibling!”