Thousands of Books Read During BayCare's NICU Read-a-Thon

BayCare’s five Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) participated in a national read-a-thon Sept. 9-19, 2024. The 10-day reading event was part of a friendly competition with more than 150 facilities across the country, led by the Babies with Books organization.

The goal of the read-a-thon is to celebrate and encourage infant bonding through reading at the bedside. Research has shown that reading to premature infants can aid in brain development, language skills, vocabulary, listening and memory skills.

“Across BayCare, our extraordinary NICU teams work together every minute of every day to give newborn patients the best possible chance to heal, grow and live to their fullest potential,” said Charles Ennis, director of the NICUs at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital-South and BayCare’s neonatal and pediatric transport services. “When the opportunity to bring awareness to the importance of reading to neonatal babies arose, our team gladly answered the call.” 

And read they did! During the read-a-thon, more than 3,100 books were read to babies at Mease Countryside Hospital, Morton Plant Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South, St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital and Winter Haven Women’s Hospital by caregivers, hospital and BayCare leaders, families and other special guests. 

For BayCare Co-Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Guy, reading to a NICU patient was a highlight of her week. 

“Spending time with this precious baby helped to re-ground me in what’s really important, taking time to stop, be thankful for my many blessings and reflect on what an amazing, compassionate and clinically excellent team we have,” Kimberly said. “What a privilege we have, caring for this community.”

Lactation Consultant Holly Wunker, who coordinated the read-a-thon at Winter Haven Women’s Hospital, added, “This event is an opportunity for our team members to participate in our daily efforts to take care of our tiniest patients.” 

Dr. Megan Tirone, chief medical officer of St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, noted that the NICU read-a-thon is one of her favorite times of the year. 

“Not only does the activity reduce stress for the baby, but it reduces stress for those reading as well,” Dr. Tirone said. “I love that our team uses this annual event to raise awareness of how reading helps neonates and to donate books for these babies to take home for their first libraries.”