So, having not yet seen a new design in the real world, I’ve done a little research to try to find out exactly where this project stands. The latest news I could find is a couple of years old, when a new front-fastening garment was set for a trial run at a local hospital. The gown, designed by an N.C. State professor, includes back-end alterations and built-in features to accommodate high-tech equipment. But, since then, no further news has emerged – only thousands of ample, accidental views.
Now, I understand these things take time. Patent protection, manufacturing partnerships, mass production, supply chain procurement, etc. can all make for a slow process when it comes to introducing product to the marketplace. But I do hope we’ll see very soon an improved hospital gown – so we can finally be spared the Flash Dance of the Indiscreet Invalids. Until then, I guess we’ll all just have to occasionally crack up at the most inopportune times.
Posted January 27, 2015
One of the funniest but most disturbing scenes in the 2003 movie “Something’s Gotta Give” is when Jack Nicholson walks down the hospital hall with his dimpled derriere peeking out of one of those dreaded patient gowns. Producers used a century-old problem – the flimsy, fashionless, functionless frock for the infirmed – to provide an easy visual punch line. Creating that “tushorrific” tableau was apparently, well, just a breeze.
I’ve been reminded of that scene frequently this month while visiting a loved one in the hospital. Every time I see one of those awkward accouterments, I groan at the mental visual of this one-size-fits-none getup – the bowling shoe of the healthcare world. But then I remember Dr. Blanton Godfrey, the former dean of the College of Textiles at N.C. State University, who frequently mentioned during his presentations some of the research occurring at the school. Among numerous projects he brought up: Giving the hospital gown a modesty makeover.
Bad flashbacks
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