New Jersey Doctor Takes on Caps Project to Save Newborn Lives Dr. Ann Dimapilis (second from right) with other crocheters and knitters from Tatem-Brown Family Practice, Virtua Health. Dr. Dimapilis is a family care physician at the Virtua Memorial Family Practice in Voorhees, New Jersey, so Save the Children’s Caps to the Capital project struck a chord with her. “It’s one of the things we tell new moms here,” she said. “It’s actually true — the babies lose a good amount of body heat from the head, so we tell new mothers they should keep the caps on as much as possible for the first few days.” Making the tiny caps also seemed a practical way to use up leftover yarn from other projects, she said, so she enlisted a nurse at her hospital, a fellow knitter, who in turn enlisted members of her bowling league. One member is a Brownie Troop leader who put the project in her church bulletin and enlisted the help of her girl scout troop. Dr. Dimapilis left yarn and Caps to the Capital materials in her waiting room and patients began knitting too before their appointments. One worked at a crafts store and brought in a whole box of free yarn. The editor of the newsletter for the Virtua hospital system, which has five hospitals, is a crocheter and did a story on the hospital intranet. “Some patients got real excited,” Dr. Dimapils said. “The whole thing really kind of snowballed.” Dr. Dimapilis herself has crocheted several caps since September. “It’s a form of relaxation. Also I have two boys, 11 and 13, and they have a lot of activities like soccer and so on, so I have a lot of waiting time.” Each cap will be tagged with a 3”x5” card that has the maker’s name and greeting to the newborn recipient, along with a message reminding President Bush that America can do a lot to help children around the world, Dr. Dimapilis said. Download the Caps to the Capital Action Kit (PDF)