Newborns don red hats to raise awareness about heart health

Newborns at Greenwich Hospital will wear red knitted hats in February to raise awareness about heart disease and congenital heart defects through the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts program. 

Greenwich Hospital is among the hundreds of hospitals nationwide participating in Little Hats, Big Hearts to celebrate American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. Nationally, eight in 1,000 babies are born with a heart defect. 

“It’s never too early to start raising awareness about heart health,” said Jeanne VanSciver, RN, perinatal senior coordinator at Greenwich Hospital, which welcomes more than 2,800 newborns a year. The hospital offers perinatology services for women with high-risk pregnancies and has a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Level III A for newborns needing specialized care. 

Volunteers have knitted and donated thousands of red hats for the program, which honors babies, moms and heart healthy lives. The goal is to “empower moms to live heart healthy lives and to help their children do the same,” reports the American Heart Association. 

Greenwich Hospital is a member of Yale New Haven Health. Greenwich is a 206-bed (includes 32 isolettes) community hospital serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. It is a academic affiliate of Yale School of Medicine. Since opening in 1903, Greenwich Hospital has evolved into a progressive medical center and teaching institution representing all medical specialties and offering a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic and wellness programs. Greenwich Hospital is recognized throughout the healthcare industry as a leader in service and patient satisfaction excellence. Greenwich Hospital has the prestigious Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. www.greenwichhospital.org