INDIANAPOLIS — Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, healthcare providers across the country are running out of isolation gowns to wear when taking care of patients. Six high school and middle school students from Indiana and California recognized the need for these gowns in order to keep healthcare professionals and the people they care for safe, launching the not-for-profit organization, “Safer With A Gown (SWAG).” SWAG is an online platform providing free, downloadable isolation gown patterns and instructions for people to make the gowns, and then donate the gowns locally.
Four of the students who started SWAG, Norah Hempstead, Tobias Schamberger, Caitlyn Hempstead and Amelia Schamberger, attend the International School of Indiana (ISI) in Indianapolis. With the help of the Butler University Theater Department, which created and digitized the gown patterns, the students are encouraging people across the country to become “SWAGGERS,” the people who sew the gowns. These easy to make gowns can be sewn from any clean materials available at home, like unused fabric or sheets. After the gowns are sewn, SWAGGERS then safely donate the gowns to a local clinic or send them to the SWAG organization for distribution.
“These isolation gowns are important for protecting the clothing of healthcare workers from droplet contamination, particularly since we know that the virus can survive on some surfaces for up to 72 hours,” said Deanna Willis, MD, professor of family medicine at the IU School of Medicine and ISI parent. “When gowns are in short supply, some strategies include using expired gowns or using gowns that meet international standards, but not U.S. standards. We do not want this to happen, and we don’t want any healthcare workers who would benefit from wearing a gown to not have one. We’re so proud that the SWAG organization has already impacted many healthcare workers, and that the impact only continues to grow.”
Started in March, the organization has already made a nationwide impact, with the Web site reaching over 1,504 unique visitors and 1,158 downloads from all 50 states. The idea is to help as many healthcare professionals as possible during these unprecedented times. To learn more or to become a SWAGGER, visit www.facebook.com/Safer-With-A-Gown or www.saferwithagown.com.
