Starting in 2015, patients at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System will be sporting the first redesigned patient hospital gowns in nearly a century.
A main feature of the new gowns, named Model G after the hospital's namesake automobile, will be a completely covered backside, which has been patients' biggest complaint.
"The patient hospital gown is the one object that actually touches every single patient in healthcare, so a simple change — like closing the backside — can have a big impact on a patient's hospital stay or outpatient procedure," said Michael Forbes, product designer at the Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Hospital. The gown is one of the first inventions made public and produced for use by the Innovation Institute.
The new gown will resemble a wrap-around robe, and has been tested at Henry Ford for safe use in hospital stays, clinic visits and tests such as MRI and CT scans. The gown still provides access for intravenous and other lines.
Instead of ties in the back, the Model G will have adjustable snaps on the front and shoulders of the gown.
Henry Ford partnered with Carhartt, a Dearborn, Mich.-based work wear brand, to manufacture the gown.
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