Media Advisory: Hospital and nursing leadership are available for interviews upon request.

Palm Springs, CA– Desert Regional Medical Center is proud to announce its participation in the Golden State Start program, a California initiative that provides 400 free diapers to every baby born at participating hospitals, regardless of family income.

Beginning this summer, families welcoming a newborn at Desert Regional Medical Center will receive 400 diapers at no cost, helping ease the financial burden many families face during a child's first year of life. The program is designed to support a healthy start for participating California hospital newborns by ensuring access to essential infant care supplies. There are no income restrictions, applications, or paperwork required for families.

"Welcoming a new baby should be a joyful time for families, and we are proud to participate in a program that helps meet a basic need for parents and infants here in the Coachella Valley," said Maggie Stutz, Nursing Director of Women and Infant Services at Desert Regional Medical Center. "Providing families with essential resources from the very beginning supports healthier starts and stronger communities."

Desert Regional is the first hospital in our area to join the new program. The program is administered by Baby2Baby on behalf of the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). In its first year, Golden State Start is expected to distribute approximately 40 million diapers to about 100,000 infants across California. Participating hospitals receive shipments of high-quality diapers, manufactured by Baby2Baby, which are then given to families when they go home from the hospital.

At Desert Regional Medical Center, the initiative complements the hospital's ongoing commitment to supporting mothers, babies and families through comprehensive maternity, neonatal and family-centered care services. Desert Regional is recognized as a Baby-Friendly Hospital and has received Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care by The Joint Commission.

According to an Urban Institute study, nearly half of all U.S. families with kids under 3 years old, said they struggled to afford the expense of diapers. About one in four parents and caregivers who did not have enough diapers for their children reported missing work or school because they could not leave their children at childcare.

Baby2Baby is a nonprofit organization that provides children in need with diapers, formula, clothing and other necessities. Serving more than one million children across all 50 states, Baby2Baby has become a national leader in helping families access essential resources.

Through its partnership with the State of California and the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), Baby2Baby is helping ensure families have access to critical infant supplies while reducing the financial strain that often accompanies the arrival of a new baby. The Golden State Start program is designed to support a healthy start for every California newborn.