Samaritan Health Services has launched the seventh annual Click for Babies campaign, to help raise awareness and prevent infant abuse during the normal period of infant development when babies cry more than any other time, sometimes inconsolably. Beginning now and continuing through the end of January, knitters and crocheters are invited to create any number of purple-colored baby caps and bring them to a Samaritan hospital where caps will be distributed to the parents of newborn babies.
The purple caps will serve as a reminder of the Period of PURPLE Crying® prevention program, an educational program for parents of newborns at all five Samaritan hospitals. The program provides life-saving information about normal infant crying and the dangers of reacting to that crying in frustration by shaking or abusing an infant. The goal is for the purple caps to help create awareness and reinforce information contained in the PURPLE program to families.
The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome recently recognized Oregon’s collaboration of hospitals to promote this campaign. Samaritan has been a strong partner in this campaign since 2010. In that time, the statewide campaign has educated 80 percent of all birthing families about the period of PURPLE in an infant’s development.
Purple baby caps may be dropped off at the following locations:
- Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, front desk – 3043 NE 28th St., Lincoln City
- Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital, patient financial services office, 930 SW Abbey, Newport
- Samaritan Albany General Hospital, front desk – 1046 Sixth Ave. SW, Albany
- Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital – 525 N. Santiam Hwy., Lebanon
- Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, front desk – 3600 NW Samaritan Drive, Corvallis
If you are interested in knitting or crocheting caps, call Joni Scholz, SHS perinatal educator, at 541-768-6460, or visit clickforbabies.org for more information and a collection of baby cap patterns.
To learn more about the Period of PURPLE Crying Prevention Program, visit purplecrying.info.
