Hospital gown
A hospital gown, also known as a patient gown, exam gown, johnny shirt or johnny gown, is a short-sleeved, thigh-length garment worn by patients in hospitals and other medical facilities.
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[edit] Utility
The hospital gown is made of fabric that can withstand repeated laundering in hot water, usually cotton, and is fastened at the back with twill tape ties. Disposable hospital gowns may be made of paper or thin plastic, with paper or plastic ties.
Some gowns have snaps along the top of the shoulder and sleeves, so that the gown can be removed without disrupting intravenous lines in the patient's arms.
Healthcare workers, especially in hospitals, find thin hospital gowns convenient for listening to the heart and lungs. For nurses, giving injections in the buttocks, abdomen, or thighs is easier when the patient is wearing a gown rather than street clothing.
Hospital gowns are much thinner and looser than regular clothing, so patients are less likely to overheat.[citation needed]
Used paper hospital gowns are associated with hospital infections, which could be avoided by proper disposal.[1]
[edit] Modesty
Hospital gowns are known for not quite closing completely and for being revealing. There have been efforts to modify the gowns to better suit patients by reducing how much a gown reveals of the body; for example, some Muslim women find it embarrassing and shameful to have to reveal their bodies, so in 2004, a Portland, Maine hospital with Muslim patients started providing new, less revealing gowns.[2] In 2008, x-ray technician Tam Nguyen of Presbyterian Hospital of Allen created larger gowns with velcro closures, for use in mammograms. The gowns are pink, in honor of breast cancer patients.[3][dead link]
In 1999, designer Cynthia Rowley created new gowns that were mid-calf length, had a mock turtleneck and three-quarter length sleeves with snaps for women. She also created a gown with drawstring pants, a short sleeve shirt and a matching robe for men. in the same year, Missouri state Representative Sam Gaskill attempted to push a bill that would have required hospitals to provide patients with gowns that would cover the body from the neck to the knee, a bill which never made it out of committee.[2]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "Simple techniques slash hospital infections: meeting". Reuters. 2009-03-21. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52K1O920090321.
- ^ a b "Muslim Patients Prompt New Hospital Gowns". Associated Press on Fox News. 2004-08-17. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,129210,00.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Mammogram Gown Makeover". KOMU. 2008-05-06. http://www.komu.com/ssi/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/bff5ae18-80ce-0971-0014-2ebc487cd800.page. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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