Doctors Medical Center is once again celebrating National Reading Month. Every baby born at DMC during March will receive a “Happy Birthday to You!” book by Dr. Seuss. The goal is to help inspire a love of reading and start a library for these newborns.

“It only takes a few minutes to make a difference. Talk, read and sing each day to help your baby grow and thrive,” Stanislaus County Library Children’s Services encourages.

To kick off the month, the Cat in the Hat stopped by Doctors Medical Center to hand out the Dr. Seuss books and educational goodie bags. DMC employees are also doing their part to contribute to National Reading Month, hosting a book drive to help replenish the Pediatric Reading Program’s library and the hospital’s Little Free Library – available to all visitors and community members – located in the main lobby.

National Reading Month coincides with Read Across America, a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Babies born at DMC on March 2 also received a special Dr. Seuss hat, knitted by one of the hospital’s longtime volunteers, Eleanor Ford.

As part of National Reading Month, DMC has partnered with Stanislaus READS! The initiative includes the Stanislaus Community Foundation, Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus County Library. DMC officials said they are proud to support this initiative – which promotes early literacy – and are thankful to the Stanislaus County Office of Education for the “Best Ways to Read to Young Kids” bookmarks and the Stanislaus Community Foundation for the “Be Your Baby’s First Teacher” flyers that are included in every Dr. Seuss book provided to the babies born at DMC this month.