Dive Brief:
- With the help of fashion designers, hospital gowns are being given a whole new look.
- The Cleveland Clinic started the trend in 2010 after the hospital CEO said he had heard multiple complaints about hospital gowns when he was a practicing heart surgeon.
- Other hospitals are following suit in an effort to increase patient satisfaction and their bottom lines.
Dive Insight:
The Cleveland Clinic gowns, which were designed by fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, are reversible like the old gowns. They have a V-neck in the front and back, completely cover the rear end and have pockets, softer fabric and a new bolder print pattern. Adrienne Boissy, chief experience officer at the Cleveland Clinic says the patients loved the gowns. "People felt much more comfortable in the new design, not just physically but emotionally," Boissy told US News and World Report.
Doctors and decision-makers at other hospitals aren't so sure. Some say traditional hospital gowns allow for easier examination and that new designs can be costly and more difficult to maintain—when Valley Hospital of Ridgewood, NJ made the switch to pajamas and gowns with additional coverage, their costs went up $70,000 per year.