SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., ― On Nov. 5, Regional West Birth and Infant Care nurse Michelle Dillon delivered a special gift to Payton and Trylen Welfl’s newborn son Theodore, the 10,000th baby to receive a book gift from the Cradle Catchers program.

The Cradle Catchers program launched in 2008 as a collaborative effort of educators in the Theta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, the Lied Scottsbluff Public Library, Regional West’s Birth and Infant Care Center, and the Western Library System. Cradle Catchers promotes the belief that reading to babies sets the stage for a lifetime of literacy, starting with parents reading to their newborns. The program aims to encourage parents to read to their babies, take children to the library at an early age, and educate parents on the correlation between reading to a child and future academic success.

Each baby born at Regional West receives a yellow “Read to Me” book bag stocked with a board book, a brochure on the benefits of reading to children at an early age, and bilingual book marks with reading suggestions for parents and caregivers. The bag also includes a card listing panhandle libraries and a coupon to take to a local library for a free library card and sippy cup. This gives librarians an opportunity to orient parents to their local library and the programs they offer for children and families.

Cradle Catchers gives books to approximately 700 babies born each year at Regional West. The program is made possible through donations from Soroptimist International, Gering Kiwanis, C.A. Story Foundation, and private individuals.

“The Birth and Infant Care Center is proud to present Payton, Trylen, and baby Theodore with the 10,000th Cradle Catcher gift,” said Erika Carmody, director of Regional West’s Birth and Infant Care Center. “Cradle Catchers has been a wonderful asset to our patients’ families, and we thank the generous donors who make Cradle Catchers possible.”

For more information, or to donate to the Cradle Catchers program, please contact: Delta Kappa Gamma, Attn: Marcia Schlichtemier, PO Box 192, Scottsbluff, NE, 69363.

Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff, Neb., is the parent company of Regional West Medical Center, a 188-bed regional referral center and the only Level II Trauma Center in Nebraska west of Kearney. As the region’s only tertiary referral medical center, Regional West offers care that spans more than 32 medical specialties provided by over 28 physician clinics. With nearly 300 in-network providers and approximately 2,000 staff members, Regional West provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.