Literacy Gaps Inspire OBGYN to Create Change: Dr. Keisha Callins
Over her 20-year career as an Obstetrician-Gynecologist (OBGYN), Mercer University School of Medicine Professor Dr. Keisha Callins has become the bridge between women’s health, early literacy, and community advocacy in middle Georgia.
Caption: Dr. Keisha Callins
Callins strongly believes that supporting mothers in their health and literacy strengthens entire communities and sets them and their families up for success.
“Access to care is not just about access to care,” she said. “It is also an opportunity to address literacy and other social determinants of health. Together, these can translate into job sustainability, financial stability, healthcare coverage, and employee benefits, which are essential factors that can improve overall quality of life.”
For Callins, literacy is a matter of public health. If she can integrate literacy with healthcare by teaching patients how to become role models in literacy for their children, she says, she can make a difference.
During her studies to become a medical professional, fate stepped in. Callins missed the timeline for application to pediatric residency after her graduation was delayed due to the birth of her son, and she decided to pursue her newfound passion for women’s health instead.
That eventually led Callins to the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy. As an inaugural board member, Callins attended the Deal Center Governor’s Summit on Early Language and Literacy, where she deepened her understanding of the connection between medicine and literacy.
She’s still grateful to Governor Deal for his vision to invite healthcare into the conversation surrounding literacy improvement.
At the first Governor’s Summit, she learned about significant gaps in literacy across Georgia, especially in rural communities. At the time, Twiggs County had some healthcare coverage, but no local physician.
“It was beyond belief that 30 minutes outside of Macon, there was a lack of services,” Callins said.
She decided that she would become Twiggs County’s part-time physician; she felt the need to provide essential healthcare that all women deserve regardless of where they live.
Callins helped develop a literacy program by applying for a grant and establishing the “Vitamins R (Reading) and L (Literacy)” program. It targeted the language nutrition needs of Twiggs County Public School students identified as having literacy challenges.
This 18-month program offered monthly meetings for children and caregivers at the elementary school during the school year, and at the public library throughout the summer. Children were provided books, healthy foods, and evidence-based instruction regarding reading and language in young children.
In 2019, this collaborative initiative was one of the inaugural recipients of the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) Leading Edge award.
Furthering access to literacy in the community, Callins was instrumental in installing a Twiggs County chapter for “The Basics.” The Basics™ is a nationwide literacy program that provides the latest research and materials to support parents in their children’s path to literacy by reinforcing children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development from birth through age five.
The importance behind these types of programs is that they are accessible. Anyone in Twiggs County can go to these meetings and receive the quality care they deserve.
Callins now facilitates a book club with her medical students, showing the next generation of health professionals how they, too, can value literacy.
In other words, she lives and breathes her philosophy.
“You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world of the person with whom you interact,” Callins said.
The Deal Center is a special funding initiative created by the Office of the Governor in 2017. The center is intended to improve reading outcomes for Georgia’s children and is housed by Georgia College & State University.