Newborns at Lakeland receive red hats to raise heart-health awareness
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
When Katie and Shawn Murphy, of Delavan, welcomed their daughter Marlie Jade Murphy into the world at 10:19 a.m. on Feb. 9, Aurora Lakeland Medical Center had a special gift for the newborn – a handmade red hat, courtesy of the Little Hats, Big Hearts program.
The American Heart Association kicked off February, which is American Heart Month, with the delivery of handmade red hats to babies born in Aurora Health Care birthing centers throughout the state, including Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn.
Babies born at all Aurora birthing centers will receive the hats during February, in an effort to raise awareness for heart health and congenital heart defects.
“Most of them are treatable if they are detected early, that’s why they are screened,” Lakeland Women’s Health Services Manager Dawn Haxton said.
Babies born at Aurora birthing centers are screened for critical congenital heart disease at 24 hours of age. Newborn screening is a tool that can identify babies with a heart defect so they can receive prompt care and treatment. Timely care may prevent disability or death early in life. Aurora Lakeland expects to welcome about 60 babies in February, and across Wisconsin Aurora will welcome more than 1,100.
“We look for ways to create a memorable experience for our families and this program is just a great example of this,” Haxton said. “The parents are taking picture of their babies with their red hat and while they do that it gives us the opportunity to talk to them about the screenings we do on their baby and why we do the screenings.”
Aurora is the only hospital system in eastern Wisconsin participating in the program, Haxton said.
Individuals from 35 states knit or crocheted more than 8,250 red hats for the program in the state.
“Each hat is unique, hand-made. We have a lot of groups that knit hats for us in the Burlington-Walworth area,” Haxton said. “Then they’re washed and packaged and distributed to the babies.”
“We are so inspired by the outpouring from the community,” Aurora Corporate Events Director, and coordinator of the program for the American Heart Association, Laura Bolger said. “Many of them came with notes and stories from people personally affected by heart disease and stroke. It is such a heartwarming way to start American Heart Month.”
The Little Hats, Big Hearts program raises awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country. This is the first year Wisconsin has participated in the program. The association put the call out for hats in November.
The American Heart Association strives to help everyone live longer, healthier lives so they can enjoy all of life’s precious moments – like the birth of a baby. And that starts with people taking better care of their health. While progress has been significant in reducing deaths from heart disease, it is still the No. 1 killer of both women and men – more than all forms of cancer combined. In fact, cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, killing about one woman every 80 seconds.
About American Heart Month
American Heart Month is an annual celebration in February that began in 1963 to encourage Americans to join the battle against heart disease. A presidential proclamation pays tribute each year to researchers, physicians, public health professionals and volunteers for their tireless efforts in preventing, treating and researching heart disease.
For more information about American Heart Month or the Little Hats, Big Hearts program visit www.heart.org.
