[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 169 (Monday, October 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BARBARA HAYS

 Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I am honored to recognize Barbara 
Hays of Bow as September's Granite Stater of the Month. Barbara leads a 
group of women at her senior living center who make fidget and lap 
quilts to donate to local hospital patients and veterans.
  When Barbara retired after decades of working at a telephone and 
communications company, she found herself with a desire to make a 
positive difference in her community during her new free time. With a 
friend, she began sewing small lap quilts and donating them to Concord 
Hospital. During one dropoff, the nurses at the hospital asked if she 
had ever considered making fidget quilts. These quilts have zippers, 
elastics, and different fabric textures sewed on to provide sensory 
stimulation for patients with Alzheimer's and other health challenges.
  Barbara wasn't familiar with this type of quilt, but she was eager to 
try a new way to help people. She watched videos on YouTube to learn 
how to make them, and earlier this year, she helped start a workshop 
for the women at her senior living center in Bow to start making them 
together. They began to meet twice a month in the community room, each 
putting together different parts of the quilts.
  This past June, Barbara put together a Fidget Quilt Showcase at her 
White Rock Senior Living Community in order to showcase 40 quilts that 
the ``Happy Quilters of White Rock'' had made. In addition, she invited 
some nurses to join to explain how these quilts can help keep patients' 
minds busy and prevent them from picking at an IV, for example. 
Afterward, the group donated a total of 70 fidget quilts to the 
Visiting Nurse Association, Concord Hospital, the Tilton Veterans Home, 
and the Manchester VA Medical Center.
  Barbara's initiative is emblematic of the Granite State spirit of 
generosity in many ways. Not only do the fidget blankets make a 
tremendous difference in the lives of patients with Alzheimer's or 
dementia, but her quilting group also brings people together at her 
senior living center. Barbara made sure that even those who had no 
experience quilting could participate, creating a sense of belonging 
for everyone. I commend Barbara for making a positive difference in her 
community, and I am sending the ``Happy Quilters of White Rock'' my 
well wishes as they start another round of quilt-making this 
year.

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