A group of nurses and healthcare professionals at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, spent part of their holiday season putting their talents to use to benefit the youngest patients at the facility.
Groups known as "K2P2" and "The Chain Gang" knitted and crocheted 384 hats that were given to babies in the hospital's NICU.
"Our knitters and crocheters include people from all over the hospital," said Terri Clayman, who works in the Mercy pharmacy.
RNs involved in the project included Jessica Gowl, Amanda Haney and Joan Wellham.
K2P2 is an acronym for the knitting term knit 2, purl 2, while The Chain Gang is a group of crochet enthusiasts.
The knitting group, Clayman said, began in 2001 with the pharmacy staff. That year, the group knitted hats for NICU babies. The next year, the group expanded to the entire hospital staff, which made chemo hats for the outpatient oncology unit.
In 2003, the knitting and crocheting grew into making hats, scarves, and mittens for the Mercy Children's Health Outreach Project, the beneficiary of the clubs the past several years.
Last year, the groups donated more than 250 hats to MCHOP.
