Man, 86, Leads Effort To Knit 350 Hats For Preemies

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Preemies at Northside Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are sleeping cozily thanks to an 86-year-old Acworth resident.

Ed Moseley, a retired engineer, read knitting manuals and taught himself the craft of knitting. He then used those talents to teach others about the art of creating warm clothing from yarn.

The reason? He wanted to make sure they participated in a campaign at Dogwood Forest Assisted Living to donate 350 knitted hats to Northside Hospital’s NICU on National Premature Day, Nov. 17.

“We had a lot of fun,” Moseley said, who knitted 55 hats alone. “We made my couch the collection spot for all of these and right now I’ve got my couch back.”

Premature and low-birth weight babies usually have little body fat and may be too immature to stabilize their own temperature, even in a warm environment. Northside delivers the most babies in the nation and about 2,000 infants are admitted to the hospital’s NICU.

Johns Creek residents Patricia and Douglas Bunt were one of the first families to receive the knitted hats. Their baby, Matthew, was born at 35 weeks on Nov. 12.

“It’s very nice that so many people care about the babies in the NICU,” said Patricia Bunt. “Being up here is so disruptive to your every day and knowing that people care enough to help parents is so appreciated.”

Linda Kelly, RN, clinical manager at Northside Hospital's special care nursery said that it was great to receive these wonderful gifts.

“Many times our families don’t expect to be introduced to the special care nursery, so to have a gift left at the bedside, or a nurse put the hat on the little baby’s head, makes it all seem less like a hospital,” Kelly said. “It’s important for families to see their baby as a baby and not as a patient. This will help to get the families to that spot.

“It is the little things that many people don’t think are a big deal that are usually the most special things for these parents who are very anxious and worried about their little babies.”

For more information about Northside’s NICU, visit northside.com/miraclebabies.

Image via Dogwood Forest