IMPACT Melanoma and VTAAC to Bring “No Sun for Babies” Program to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
No Sun for Babies program educates new parents about the dangers of sun exposure to newborns’ skin.
IMPACT Melanoma is pleased to continue its work in the Green Mountain State, earning Vermont grant monies for the fifth consecutive year. Having already introduced their Practice Safe Skin program (including the installation of free sunscreen dispensers throughout the state), this year, the organization has partnered with Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer (VTAAC) to help with ensuring awareness initiatives throughout 2022.
Part of the state-wide initiative to create awareness and instill stronger safe skin practices, IMPACT is introducing its “No Sun for Babies” campaign at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), in Bennington, Vermont. “No Sun for Babies,” seeks to educate new parents regarding the dangers ultraviolet light from the sun and positions easy to adopt strategies to decrease this exposure. This program is facilitated through the delivery of 300 backpacks, which are filled with UV-protective clothing and educational materials for the parents of infants.
“This is a tremendous gift for the families in our community,” said Meghan Gunn, MD, the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at SVMC. “On behalf of SVMC’s oncologists, dermatologists, and pediatricians here at SVMC, I would like to thank IMPACT Melanoma and Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer for helping us share important cancer-prevention information with our patients in an engaging and impactful way.”
It only takes one blistering sunburn during childhood to nearly double a person’s chance of developing melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer—in their lifetime. Given that Vermont has the second-highest rates of melanoma incidences in the country, IMPACT and VTAAC feel it’s pertinent to get people educated and primed for sun-safe skin protection at an early age in hopes that skin cancer incidences are virtually eradicated in future generations.
“‘No Sun for Babies’ is our newest program, being around for just over a year,” said IMPACT Melanoma Executive Director Deb Girard. “But even in that short time we’ve made great strides at hospitals throughout the country, and we’re so pleased to be adding Vermont to that list of states. Initiatives like this start small, but word spreads fast; and we’re hoping that, by expanding our collective networks, we can instill the importance of sun-safe skin health at a young age and that people will carry these lessons with them through the entirety of their life, avoiding skin cancer along the way.”
Learn more about No Sun for Babies here.
ABOUT VERMONTERS TAKING ACTION AGAINST CANCER
Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer (VTAAC) offers the power of collaboration to what otherwise might be a lonely fight. Created in 2005, VTAAC is responsible for putting the Vermont Cancer Plan into action by preventing overlap and directing resources to where they matter most in our state. Our activities are focused on reaching our ultimate goal: reducing the burden of cancer in Vermont. For more information about VTAAC please visit www.vtaac.org or email info@vtaac.org.
ABOUT SOUTHWESTERN VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), an integrated non-profit health system, has a proud 100-year history as an innovator in health care delivery. It includes a 99-bed hospital, 25 primary care, and specialty care practices, two nursing homes, and a foundation at nine total locations in Bennington and nearby New York and Massachusetts. Through visionary partnerships with Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Castleton University, and others, nearly 1,400 employees emulate the values of quality, empathy, safety, teamwork, and stewardship to fulfill their mission of exceptional care and comfort for the 75,000 people they serve. Their collective commitment to quality care and innovation is recognized by the nation’s most stringent regulators and the industry’s leading professional organizations, including The Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center. For more information visit: www.svhealthcare.org.
Pictured: Nicholas Albert, Taryn Dunlop, and their daughter Liv Albert accepted the gift of a UV blanket, sun-safety information, and backpack from IMPACT Melanoma as a part of the “No Sun for Babies” campaign.
