Whether a patient's hair is curly, coily or straight, a new effort at UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital is working to give the best hair care experience to all inpatients.
About a half-dozen nurses at the hospital launched a new hair equity program that prioritizes better treatment for patients of all ethnicities while in the hospital’s care.
“There's very little control that they have when they're admitted, so the least we can do is help them maintain that self-integrity and confidence,” said Tanisha Lewis, senior clinical nurse leader in the pediatric intensive care unit.
She and Rebecca Kanaley are among the handful of nurses who launched the hair equity program.
“Part of the goal of this project is that everyone leaves the hospital with their hair intact,” Kanaley said. “We don't want you to go back in the community and have to change your hairstyle or how you look because of hair damage that was caused in the hospital.”
The hair equity program started in April, and Kanaley said more than 300 patients have benefited from the initiative so far. She said the goal is to help families keep their usual routines while offering more diverse products intentionally provided by BIPOC vendors.
“By offering wet brushes, conditioner, detangling, spray, satin bonnets — we’re able to provide the things that they may have at home already to support their hair care in the hospital,” Kanaley said.
The program also provides religious head coverings. Lewis said they’re actively working to expand services to adult inpatients by the fall.
“Our goal is to be able to provide holistic care for our patients, head to toe,” Lewis said.
