Forbes Hospital reveals the smiles behind the masks with new ID badges

A smile does a lot of good.

But recently, most of those smiles of hospital workers have been totally covered by a protective shield to curb the spread of covid-19.

So to make them more visible again, Colleen Scarantine, a manager of patient safety at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, is printing photos of those hospital workers unmasked and smiling. The pictures are being stuck onto gowns and laminated so patients can clearly see them.

“This project is about compassion of the caregiver for the peace of mind hopefully for the patient,” Scarantine said. “And the staff too, they feel better.”

Scarantine, who is also a respiratory therapist, said she got the idea from a national news story. So she went to Forbes’ leadership and asked if she could figure out how to do that at the hospital.

“We want to affirm to our patients that there is a real, caring human being behind the mask. Nothing replaces a real smile, touch, or eye contact, but we hope these IDs can help patients and caregivers make a stronger connection,” Scarantine said.

Dr. Mark Rubino, Forbes’ president, said it was an easy decision to let her run with it.

“The personal protective equipment we wear is somewhat dehumanizing,” he said, adding hospital staff have been wearing gowns, gloves, hair coverings and bulky M100 masks — all in an effort to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

So far, it’s worked in the hospital’s emergency department. Despite having treated around 60 covid-19 patients, Dr. Rubino said staff within the emergency department has not contracted the disease.

“That’s been great news,” Dr. Rubino said.

But he hopes the smiling photos of doctors and staff will help put patients at ease in a tense environment.

“It helps put a face to the name. I think that’s the best way to put it,” he said.

Allegheny Health Network, the hospital system of which Forbes belongs, said in a news release Tuesday the project is underway at other AHN hospitals.

The alternative “IDs” are being made for a variety of employees, from transport drivers to emergency physicians.