Tell Me: Episode #12 Dr. Trude Haecker and Dr. Danielle Erkoboni of Reach Out And Read Greater Philadelphia

As Founder of Empower Kids, LLC,  https://empowerkidsllc.com/ one of my main goals is to support the literacy effort and get books into the hands of children, especially those who, for several reasons, might not have access to them.  This program touches my heart in a big way and I hope you'll be as inspired as I was to help in any way you can.

Walk with me on this fascinating interview with two top pediatricians in the Children's Hospital network, Dr. Trude Haecker and Dr. Danielle Erkoboni.  These two amazing professionals have not only the desire, but possess the intellect, compassion and heart to change the world for children, and their caregivers, one book at a time.  Dr. Haecker and Dr. Erkoboni set out with intention every moment of their day to help parents connect with their children, even babies as young as 6 months old, through modelling themselves how to read together.

Dr. Trude Haecker has been the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Greater Philadelphia since the Affiliate’s establishment in October 2002. A general pediatrician well versed in the developmental issues of young children, Dr. Haecker first brought Reach Out and Read to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in 1996. 

Under her leadership, CHOP’s Reach Out and Read program has given out more than 1.4 million brand-new and gently-used books at well and sick visits through 20 of CHOP’s Primary Care practices. Dr. Haecker is also Medical Director of Global Patient Services at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2020, Dr. Haecker was elected as the President of the Pennsylvania Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Dr. Erkoboni is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty member of the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a general pediatrician at CHOP Primary Care, Norristown. Dr. Erkoboni leads efforts to promote early literacy and learning through parent-child interaction in an increasingly digital age. She currently serves as the Principal Investigator within the Literacy Lab and the Associate Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Greater Philadelphia.

For more about RORG, follow their link at https://www.reachoutandreadphilly.org/ and to learn more about doctors and pediatricians walking the talk with readtogether, follow them on their Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVUO98q8nk8RgmJl7XaeDQ

Finally, you can also follow them on social media at Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rorgp/
on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rorgp/
and on Twitter https://twitter.com/ROR_GP


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Finally, as Founder of Empower Kids, LLC, I love showcasing young talent.  I want to thank and recognize our musicians that take care of the musical Podcast Intro and Exit music.  Liam Graham is the guitarist, and Anna Yannessa, is a junior vocal major at the University of Missouri who plans on continuing studying vo