Disclaimer: This is sponsored content. All opinions and views are of UCHealth and does not reflect the same of KOAA.
There are so many ways to give, not only during the holidays but also year-round, as I was reminded when I met a small group of retirees at Aspen Trail Retirement Resort who recently donated 21 knitted hats for newborns to UCHealth Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs.
In Colorado Springs, UCHealth delivers on average around 400 babies a month, and 300 of those alone are at Memorial North.
A retiree named Lois, who is essentially the organizer of the group of knitting ladies, says, “When they said there were 300 babies a month - I couldn't believe it! My gosh, we don't produce that number of hats!”
The hats were graciously received by Registered Nurse Jessica Carrasco, the associate nurse manager at Memorial North. “These knit hats from these ladies at this retirement center are a great gift to give to a new family. New families always love to have these types of knit hats for their newborn babies. They're always excited and super appreciative of them.”
Jessica says a hat for a newborn isn't just cute, they're important to a baby's health. “We want to make sure that newborns are able to regulate their temperatures correctly. We always make sure that a baby has a hat on. We have newborn hats at UCHealth but also when we have the knit or crochet ones - after they've had their first bath they get a nice clean new hat.”
Lois recently moved to Colorado Springs from a retirement community in St. Louis, where she had been part of a larger group of ladies that knit hundreds of these hats a year. As soon as she got settled and began to make new friends in this community, she was excited to begin a new group here.
Lois says, “We just put out a little note for anybody that wanted to knit something small. We are older now and spend more time sitting down and I thought it seemed like a good idea. It's just fun to do, and it's something useful that we can do in the evening when we're sitting down watching TV or whatever.”
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