Program Offers Seasonally-Appropriate Attire For Some People Upon Discharge

When patients are rushed to the hospital for trauma or an emergency, their clothing may be damaged as a result of procedures related to their medical care. And if no family or friends are available to help provide replacement clothing, patients may sometimes leave the hospital with simple, serviceable attire.

Team members at ThedaCare recognized this and used the opportunity to help enhance this aspect of patient care.

“Some of our patients didn’t have acceptable clothing to wear after discharge,” said Amy Mitchell, Care Management Social Work Lead at ThedaCare. “We saw an opportunity to help address that.”

Mitchell led the creation of ThedaCARES Clothing Closet. The initiative “aims to ensure that all patients have access to essential clothing items, promoting dignity and comfort as they leave our hospitals,” she said.

“This initiative helps us better ensure that people in our care do not need to worry about something as fundamental as having clean, appropriate clothing when they transition from one of our hospitals,” Mitchell said. “The Clothing Closet supports our commitment to holistic patient care. It helps address our patients’ social and emotional needs, supplementing the care provided to treat their medical issues.”

The ThedaCare Family of Foundations supported the launch of ThedaCARES Clothing Closet with a $25,000 grant. The funding helped with start-up costs for necessities such as brand new clothing including several sizes of undergarments, shirts, pants, sweatshirts, jackets, socks, sneakers and boots, storage bins, and resealable plastic bags used to create clothing packages.

“We were able to support such a meaningful and impactful initiative thanks to the continued support of our generous donors,” said Barbara Beuscher, CFRE, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, ThedaCare Family of Foundations. “When we are able to offer our patients clean, comfortable clothing when they leave one of our facilities because their own clothes may no longer be suitable, we’re helping them leave our hospitals with the dignity and the respect they deserve. This seemingly simple gesture is directly related to the Foundation’s ceaseless efforts to help improve the health and well-being of people in the communities we serve.”

Access to the closet is generally initiated by team members.

“Our teams have been engaged and responsive in this,” Mitchell said. “They’re assessing each patient situation and offering potential assistance. For example, they may notice that a person has come to the emergency department for medical help in winter, clearly underdressed for the weather. When team members observe such a scenario, the hope is we’re acknowledging the situation and talking it through with the person to see if we can assist them with appropriate clothing.”

All 10 ThedaCare hospitals offer a Clothing Closet.

“The Clothing Closet represents more than shirts or shoes,” Mitchell said. “It highlights the belief that healing goes beyond medicine, that feeling warm, clean and seen can make an enormous difference during some of life’s hardest moments. With every clothing item given, we’re telling our patients, ‘You matter, you are cared for, you are not alone.’”

To learn more about the ThedaCare Family of Foundations and the impact of donor support, please visit ThedaCare.org/Foundations.

Amy Mitchell, Care Management Social Work Lead at ThedaCare, stands in front of storage bins filled with individual packets of clothing. The bins are part of ThedaCARES Clothing Closet, an initiative that aims to ensure that all patients have access to essential clothing items, promoting dignity and comfort as they transition from the hospital.

About ThedaCare

For more than 115 years, ThedaCare® has been improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves in northeast and central Wisconsin. The organization delivers care to more than 650,000 residents in 17 counties, and employs approximately 7,000 providers and team members at 180 points of care, including 10 hospitals. As an organization committed to being a leader in Population Health, team members are dedicated to empowering people to live their unique, best lives. ThedaCare is a not-for-profit health system with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs, as well as primary care. ThedaCare also partners with communities to understand needs, find solutions together, and encourage health awareness and action. ThedaCare is part of Froedtert ThedaCare, Wisconsin’s most comprehensive health care system.