Courtesy Dignity Health
First-time parents Crystal Medina and Jose Rivera of South Gate welcomed their baby girl, Ximena Valentina Rivera-Medina (pictured), at Dignity Health—St. Mary Medical Center on Feb. 18. Ximena is one of thousands of babies across the country wearing a special handmade red hat in partnership with the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts program to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease during American Heart Month. Dignity Health Southern California this week announced that all six of its hospitals are participating in the program to help build awareness for heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country. Thanks to countless volunteers, more than 1,000 newborn babies born at Dignity Health hospitals in the month of February will receive a knitted or crocheted hat. The Little Hats, Big Hearts program, sponsored locally by Union Bank, is in its second year in Los Angeles. Nationally, the program has grown to include 660 hospitals in 40 states, handing out more than 100,000 hats, according to Dignity Health.
Source: Dignity Health
