PPE Portraits
We are very excited to announce that “PPE Portraits” are coming to Strive! We want you to see the smile behind the mask, so our staff will be wearing laminated photographs of ourselves, clipped on to our protective gowns, so you can get to know us all a little better.
This new initiative at Strive was inspired by the success of the PPE Portraits project, originally started in 2014 during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, PPE Portraits have made their way to Canadian hospitals. A recent article out of the University of Toronto, illustrates how PPE Portraits have made changes in the way patients experience their interactions with healthcare providers.
It changes your mindset for the rest of the day. It reminds you that this is what you went into this field for, to be there for people during challenging moments. To help people feel better.
In a time when almost everyone we interact with, especially within a healthcare setting, is partially hidden behind a mask and other protective equipment, it is hard to remember that there is a real person behind all the PPE. Having the photographs visually accessible to patients, has helped to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and human connection perceived by patients receiving care in hospitals. In the article, Caroline Gregory, who co-runs the Toronto branch of PPE Portraits, describes patients’ reactions to seeing the portraits: “One person told me that it was refreshing to feel like he was being cared for by a real person.”
Reminding patients that there is a real human under all the PPE, can help patients feel more at ease during what can be a significantly stressful time. Furthermore, there have been benefits for the staff too! The response that the healthcare providers have been getting to their PPE Portraits has boosted staff morale: “it changes your mindset for the rest of the day. It reminds you that this is what you went into this field for, to be there for people during challenging moments. To help people feel better.” Healthcare workers have also gone on to say that they enjoy seeing the PPE Portraits of their colleagues as well, as it had been so long, they were starting to forget what they looked like!
After hearing about the success of the PPE Portraits within the hospital settings, we knew we wanted to give them a try at Strive! By wearing our photographs, we hope to help our clients get to know us a little bit better, foster a stronger human connection during appointments, and show you the smiles behind our masks!
See the smile behind the mask!
Click here to read the University of Toronto Article
PPE Portraits Canada Website: www.ppeportraits.ca