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Dignity Gowns
Comfort & Style For Patients, Utility for Medical Professionals
Meet the Girl Behind the Gown
Hi, My name is Samantha and I suppose in many ways, I am a normal 16 year old teenager.
A few years ago, I had to go to the doctor’s office for my annual check-up. It went well….until I attempted covering myself with a flimsy, small sheet of semi-sheer paper gown. Despite being in a private room with a kind female doctor, I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. At that time, I had no idea what to do about it.
A short time later, my father introduced me to a project he had begun many years before, and suggested I get involved as one of my school projects. When he explained he had designed a newer, better version of a hospital gown that would offer the wearer more dignity and full modesty, I remembered my embarrassment and discomfort at the doctor’s office earlier and loved the idea.
I worked long hours with a seamstress, designer, and others while simultaneously my father conducted multiple test groups with medical personnel and potential users to get a better feel for what would work best. The next year for my annual physical, I wore that gown we designed. It provided my doctor full access without exposing anything and I felt comfortable and relaxed during the exam. My doctor loves it, and I now use it all the time for any medical appointment.
NO ONE should ever be embarrassed walking the halls of a hospital, recuperating, going through rehab or constant doctor visits/treatments just because of a poorly designed hospital gown. This is the premise that fuels my desire to help design a functional, nice looking, and dignified gown.
Why Acesso Wear?
Traditional hospital gowns sacrifice the patient’s dignity in order to allow clinicians access to examine and treat them. We asked, “Why can’t a gown preserve patient dignity while also permitting easy clinician access?” From that simple question, Acesso Wear was born. But where did the name come from? The fundamental concepts of what we call modern medicine have their roots in ancient Greece. These early practitioners ascribed the various aspects of the medical arts to a family of gods and goddesses. One such goddess was Aceso, goddess of the healing process. She came from a distinguished line. Her grandfather was Apollo, the healer and god of the sun. Her father was Asclepius, god of the medical arts. And her sisters were Panacea, goddess of the universal remedy, and Aglaea, goddess of the glow of good health. It seemed fitting to draw from this tradition, since we were addressing a concern that dates back to one of the earliest concerns of every patient: calming some of their anxiety through preservation of their dignity. Lowering anxiety is often the first step in the healing process. And so, we chose Aceso as our namesake (We added the second “s” to help with pronunciation.). We discovered soon after that acesso is also the Portuguese word for access. A happy coincidence that further illustrates that our gowns are easy to don and remove, while also helping the clinician with access to the entire patient.