Erlanger East Hospital-Lindsey and Neil with baby Reid Menne
NICU Nurse Michelle Tolliver, and Cardiovascular Disease Chief Fellow Dr. Kelly Wingerter hold hearts above a NICU baby to help bring awareness to heart disease in women
Cortney Gilliam and her baby, Alexandria, celebrate Valentine’s Day together
NICU baby wears one of more than 100 red hats donated by volunteer knitters
Volunteer knitters from Genuine Purl with hand-made red hats that were donated to Erlanger’s NICU
This Valentine’s Day specialists with Erlanger’s Heart and Lung Institute are educating new moms on the importance of heart health in a most unusual way.
To create more awareness about heart disease - particularly in women - Erlanger partnered with members of St. Elmo Presbyterian Church and the Genuine Purl yarn shop to knit tiny red caps for neonatal intensive care babies at Erlanger East Hospital and Children’s Hospital at Erlanger on Valentine’s Day. "Knitters from as far away as Huntsville drove to Chattanooga to deliver red caps and participate in this heartfelt educational program for new moms,' organizers said.
Red caps were placed on all newborns and NICU babies on Valentine’s Day, and a card was presented to mothers bearing this message:
Dear Mommy,
I’m wearing this cute little red hat to remind you to love your heart like you love me. Heart Disease is the number one killer of women. So please take care of your heart, because I’m going need you a long time.
“Heart disease in women is more common than most people think,” said University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga Cardiovascular Disease Chief Fellow Dr. Kelly Wingerter, “It is the leading cause of death in women in the United States and around the world. It is important that we try to prevent heart disease. We recommend having regular follow ups with doctors to check blood pressures, weight and cholesterol levels; exercising for 30 minutes most days of the week; and eating a diet with minimal salt and fat and larger amounts of vegetables.”