Apparently, It isn’t an exact cure for cancer or HIV either, but
it’s big news for patients, nonetheless. Finally, a new and decent hospital
gown has been designed by someone.
“It’s warmer, it
closes in the front, it’s much easier to put on and patients feel much more
secure and have a sense of privacy which is nice,” says Michael Forbes, product
designer for the Henry Ford Innovation Institute and lead designer on the
project.
The new gown, which
looks more like a wraparound bathrobe, is currently being used at Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit. In addition to being made of thicker material to keep
patients warmer, the gown closes with snaps instead of ties and is adjustable
to fit both large and small patients.
The big news, of
course, is the back of the gown: there is one. Forbes and his team
used patient questionnaires to guide their design. The biggest complaint by
far, he says, was the open back.
“[Patients] absolutely
despised the old one,” he says. “The existing gowns don’t give you a sense of
dignity. You’re already in the hospital and have people sticking you with
needles and violating your personal space, your bubble, because they’re trying
to take care of you. The new back gives the patient a sense of privacy.”
It also allows for
easy access with regard to IVs, medical lines and other clinical necessities.
“There’s an access
flap from your neck to your lower back,” says Forbes, who credits three
students at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies with initiating the project.
“It allows you to check for vitals and breathing and the like. But it closes.
If you need access, you reach in.”
Kelsey Jenison, health
education supervisor at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle says she hears a
fair amount of complaints about gowns from patients.
“They’re cold, they’re
not very thick and you feel exposed in them,” she says.
“The new gown looks
like something at a spa. It looks like it will promote wellness. Mentally, it
might help patients get out of the mind frame of being at a hospital.”
Rachel Alquist, a
34-year-old sales manager from Seattle, points out that the current design
isn’t exactly practical, especially when you consider the state some patients
are in.
“I was at the ER and
was pretty much non-coherent because of the pain and the pain meds and I had to
go to the bathroom,” she says. “I had a gown on but no robe and I just walked
down this long hall with my butt hanging out.
There were people on gurneys that
got a full show. I was just so out of it. My mom just waved and watched me go.
Patient gowns are the worst.”
So far, patient
response to the new hospital gown has been very positive, says Forbes, who
hopes to license the design to an existing manufacturer so it can be produced
and sold nationwide.
Manufacturing cost is
comparable to the old gown, he says, although he believes hospitals may
actually be able to save money with the new design.
“In our research we
found that patients often use two gowns to cover up,” he says. “Which defeats
the whole purpose”? With a design that covers the back and front, you’re using
only one per patient. You can reduce the amount of gowns you need in inventory
and you can reduce the amount of laundry.”
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