The Pacific Communities Health District (PCHD) Foundation and the community are seeking donations for the newly designed program that provides new mothers with the essential items,  needed to promote safe sleep and meet some basic needs in baby’s first year. The program is in need of quilts, blankets, bath towels and other handmade baby items to help support the Dr. Ken Stevens Baby Gift project throughout 2016.

“The baby gift includes a portable crib, and for many families, this will be the baby’s only bed,” said Sarah Cole, manager of the SPCH Obstetric Unit. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is associated with unsafe sleep practices, such as mom and baby sharing a bed, which can lead to suffocation. Sadly, in 2015, our community lost an infant to SIDS, which has raised our awareness.” In addition to the portable crib, the Dr. Ken Stevens Baby Gift includes such items as a crib sheet, flannel sleep sack, diapers, books, bath towel and personal care items.

“Nursing staff use the baby gift as a teaching tool to help prepare new families for the arrival of their infants,” said Cole. All new mothers who plan to deliver their babies at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital are being offered this gift in their third trimester of pregnancy. Mothers who do not receive prenatal care are given the gift when they deliver. Each year, approximately 200 babies are born at the hospital, and more than 70 families have already received gifts.

This project is named in memory of Dr. Ken Stevens, a beloved physician who supported the local hospital. Handmade items can be dropped off at the Samaritan Patient Financial Services Building on the corner of Highway 101 and SW Abbey Street. Cash donations can also be made at samhealth.org/Baby-Gift. For more information, call the PCHD Foundation at 541-574-1810.