Babies born in February at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital/Newburgh, and six other Hudson Valley hospitals, will receive a red hat from the American Heart Association. The organization is raising awareness of congenital heart defects, the most common birth defect in the country.
The program, “Little Hats, Big Hearts,” started in the Chicago area in 2014 and has quickly spread to 33 participating states this year.
“The American Heart Association cares about babies’ hearts, which drives our advocacy and research funding efforts for babies,” said Carolyn Torella, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “But the program also provides volunteers with a personal and creative way to give back to our organization on their own time and from the comfort of their own homes.”
Those who like to knit or crochet are welcome to make a donation to the effort. Both baby hats and donations of yarn are being accepted. Hats should be in both newborn and preemie sizes. Yarn needs to be red, made of cotton or acrylic, be of medium to heavy weight, as well as machine washable and dryable.
Along with the hats, parents will receive educational information and a link to the American Heart Association web site with more information about heart defects.
Through research and science, advances are being made to ensure newborns get the care they need when they’re born, or even prior to birth.
Torella said in vitro surgeries can be performed to repair heart defects. A new law, passed last year, allows hospitals in New York to perform a pulse oximetry test to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. The simple test helps detect heart defects in the earliest hours of a newborn’s life, even before they leave the hospital to go home.
“People don’t talk enough about congenital heart defects,” Torella said. “Parents aren’t aware and people aren’t aware it’s a concern of newborns.”
More information about the national program can be found by visiting heart.org/littlehatsbighearts.
For any questions or to volunteer, contact Cornwall resident JoAnn Parker at joann.parker@heart.org or call 845-542-4580.
Donations may be sent to:
American Heart Association
Attn: JoAnn Parker
301 Manchester Road #105
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603
