Newborn Babies Born at Beloit Memorial Hospital

Celebrate American Heart Month With Red Knit Hats

BELOIT, IL. — Volunteers for the American Heart Association are celebrating American Heart Month by knitting hundreds of red hats that will be given to all babies born at Beloit Memorial hospital during the month of February.

The Little Hats, Big Hearts™ project 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 and the leading killer of infants with birth defects.

“All babies born at Beloit Memorial Hospital are screened for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). Beloit Health System works with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in providing and collecting this data,” commented Mindy Brancamp, MSN, Director of Family Care Center.

Congenital heart defects are structural problems with the heart present at birth. They result when a mishap occurs during heart development soon after conception and often before the mother is aware that she is pregnant. CHD affects approximately one in every 125 babies every year in the United States alone.

The American Heart Association is second only to the federal government in funding cardiovascular and stroke research, including congenital heart defects.

For more information on Little Hats Big Hearts, please visit www.heart.org/LittleHatsBigHearts. If you would like more information about this release, please contact Megan Goggin, Manager of Marketing and Community Relations at Beloit Health System at 608.363.5714 or email mgoggin@beloithealthsystem.org