Meeting the most basic needs
As the only hospital in the region providing inpatient psychiatry services, Sacred Heart admits approximately 130 patients each month for psychiatric care. On average, 90 of those patients arrive like Wanda and Jack, without appropriate or sufficient clothing.
“Part of our therapy program involves exercise routines, because physical activity helps stimulate the brain,” says Tammy McKean, mental health counselor and activity therapist (pictured at right). “But without shoes, how is a patient supposed to participate?”
“Having the appropriate clothing, whether it’s clean underwear or comfy sweat pants, is a big part of helping our patients recover from their illness and stabilize,” Tammy adds.
That’s why she has made it her personal mission to develop and maintain a Clothing Closet for psychiatry patients.
In 2005, she obtained a $5,000 grant from Wal-Mart to stock the closet with basic clothing supplies like pants, t-shirts and socks. Then she headed to K-Mart, where she secured a deal on shoes, getting them for an average of $3.50 per pair. Last fall, she organized a coat drive so adults being discharged in cold weather would be able to stay warm. And this year, the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation responded to Tammy’s request and provided $3,000, with the promise of more to come.
The Clothing Closet has two rooms. One is just for the winter coats, carefully hung according to size. And one is for all the other articles of clothing, plus shoes, reading glasses, duffel bags, toiletry kits and whatever other supplies Tammy and her coworkers can get their hands on.
“Tammy has made this a personal labor of love,” says Susan Hammond, director of Psychiatry Services. “Due to her initiative and commitment, every patient in need receives a full set of clothes. She is legendary for her ability to stretch a dollar and make it really count, and her passion for this mission has inspired many others to support the project.”
“None of this would have been successful without the whole team,” Tammy quickly adds. “My coworkers have often reached into their own pockets to help meet an urgent need.” She credits Colleen Reiber and Toni Rowley, colleagues in the Adult-Geriatric Psychiatry Unit, in particular.
The first effort to develop a clothing closet for patients actually began with the Sisters of Providence about 20 years ago. The physical location of the closet changed with frequency as the Medical Center continually made room for additional services, but the mission of the clothing closet never changed.
Today, the Chaplaincy’s clothing closet is located in the Providence Center for Faith and Healing and relies heavily on the support of Volunteer Services. Volunteer Nita Crouteau organizes the supply of sweatpants, underclothes, coats, etc., and helps the chaplains know what’s available for patients in need. Then other volunteers respond to the chaplains’ calls to deliver clothing to the appropriate patient rooms.
Like the Psychiatry department’s closet, the Chaplaincy program also receives funding from the Sacred Heart Foundation to purchase items in high demand and also relies heavily on the generosity of employees who donate clothing. In just one quarter of 2007, the Chaplaincy closet provided more than 230 articles of clothing to 99 different individuals. Together, the two departments’ closets are on track to serve nearly 2,000 people this year.
“If we didn’t provide this service, the only alternative would be to discharge patients in hospital garments like surgical scrubs,” says Hugh Polensky, director of Chaplaincy Services. “That’s simply not something Sacred Heart wants to do.”
He adds, “Our Mission is to treat people with dignity, and providing them with appropriate clothing is one simple way to accomplish that.”
And as with any community-oriented donation request, the Sacred Heart staff as a whole is very responsive to events like coat drives for Psychiatry patients.
Tammy says having the Clothing Closet stocked helps relieve the stress staff in Psychiatry once had, eliminating the distress they often felt as their patients left their care without coats or shoes.
“It feels really good to know we’re meeting our patients' most basic needs.”
You Can Help
Both the Chaplaincy Closet and the Psychiatry Closet rely on donations of cash or clean and gently-used items such as sweatpants, t-shirts and sweatshirts in all sizes.If you would like to donate cash, please contact the Sacred Heart Foundation, at
(509) 474-4917.
To donate clothing items, please call Chaplaincy at
474-3008 or Tammy in Psychiatry at 474-3092.
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