4 minute read
Shave and a Haircut
When you’re ill and hospitalized, it’s not easy to keep up with basic daily grooming—especially if your hospital stay is long and drawn out. For many people, not looking clean and neat may affect their mood, their happiness (or lack thereof), and even their outlook on life.
When confronted with this problem at Newark’s University Hospital (UH), fourthyear NJMS student Vaishali Ravikumar tackled it head-on. She’s the brains behind Bergen Barbers, a program providing haircutting and shaving services for hospitalized patients in UH’s trauma and medicine services. A small team of NJMS students does the grooming.
Ravikumar came up with the idea for Bergen Barbers as a third-year student, during her trauma surgery rotation. “A patient who had been hospitalized for many days became so frustrated that he was on the verge of checking himself out against medical advice,” she says. “His long, matted hair and unbrushed beard were making him very uncomfortable. My attending suggested I do something about it.”
Grabbing a few toiletries from hospital closets and supply rooms, she was able to give the patient a makeshift barber shop experience. “He requested a ‘fo-hawk’ and I did my best to deliver,” Ravikumar says. “We laughed and talked through the whole process and I learned a lot about him. When I finished, he was in much better spirits and trusted his health care team more than before. He ended up staying in the hospital for the duration and healed well.”
Pleased with the outcome, Ravikumar wanted to come up with a way to bring these services to other patients similarly facing extended hospital stays. She recruited a few NJMS student volunteers to help: M4 Matthew Del Signore; M2s Hetal Lad and Sowntharaya Ayyappan; and M1s Ivan Loncar and Shivani Srivastava.
They’d never cut hair before, “and I’d certainly never given anyone a shave,” notes Ravikumar. So they did what people do when trying to learn new skills: watched YouTube videos.
“We learned how to use a clipper and how to give a basic haircut,” says Ravikumar. “Using waterless shampoo with a small spray bottle of water, we dampen the hair, shampoo it, and towel it dry. For women, we do a straight cut. For men, we ask how short they want it.”
The nursing staff on the surgery and medicine floors guides patient selection, says Ravikumar. “We make sure patients are able to provide consent and do not have a TBI or any medical device in the head or face that might be an obstacle. Patients with severe blood clotting disorders are also ruled out.”
Thus far, they’ve had nothing but raves. Among the patient comments:
My head feels cleaner and more comfortable. I can feel a breeze again!
Now I won’t have food stuck in my beard and mustache, which has been grossing me out.
I wish I had my wallet so I could pay you!
The team plans to hold a fund-raiser to add more products to their arsenal: nail polish, after-shave, and products for textured and curly hair. They want to learn how to braid Black women’s hair, too—and hope to one day have manikins to practice on.
Bergen Barbers is part of the Pozen Scholars Program. Created in 2009, the program supports meaningful student-run community activities. The group is guided by faculty mentor Amy Gore, MD, assistant professor of surgery.
“It’s rewarding to feel that I contributed to the medical team and served my community with skills I learned on my own,” says Ravikumar. “I’m excited to continue our work and see our reach expand."
—Mary Ann Littell
MEET THE BERGEN BARBERS
BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS OF ROBERT URBANICH
There’s nothing like a shave and a haircut—just ask UH patient Robert Urbanich, seen above before and after his grooming session.
