Knitting Project Promotes Congenital Heart Defect Awareness

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Sandy Springs, GA -- Heart disease isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about a newborn baby.

But the most common birth defect across the country is congenital heart defect, affecting one in 100 newborns.

American Heart Association volunteers are raising awareness during American Heart Month in February by knitting red hats for babies born at Northside Hospital.

On Feb. 10, volunteers from the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts project donated nearly 5,000 red hats to the Northside Hospital Auxiliary in Sandy Springs and Forsyth County.

“In 2015, Northside Hospital delivered more babies than any other community hospital in the nation,” said Carol Kratochvil, Northside Hospital volunteer services manager. “We screen all newborns for congenital heart defects before they go home. The hats will help us educate about the importance of these screenings.”

Marietta resident Jan Murphy, director of affiliate meeting management for the American Heart Association, led the Little Hats, Big Hearts project in Georgia. Murphy said her volunteers mailed her knitted and crocheted red hats from Alabama, Puerto Rico, Mississippi and the U.S. Virgin Islands after she made online requests, craft store flyers and word of mouth spread about the project.

“Each hat is completely unique and different,” Murphy said. “The reasons people did it were very touching and there’s a lot of passion when it comes to newborns. We hope to keep this project growing.”

To learn more about the project, visit www.heart.org, or email jan.murphy@heart.org. For more information about Northside Hospital Auxiliary, visit NorthsideAtlAux.com or call 404-851-8707.

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Group photo: from left, Judy Lewis, Northside Hospital Auxiliary special projects chair; Kimberly Goodloe, American Heart Association ambassador; Jan Murphy, American Heart Association director of affiliate meeting management and Carol Kratochvil, Northside Hospital volunteer services manager. Credits: Northside Hospital