Nurse launches clothing donation program for trauma patients at Mount Nittany Medical
Multifarious are the reasons why trauma patients end up at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Some are there to have a sexual assault examination conducted, while others are at the only hospital in Centre County because they were involved in a car crash or fell.
Their backgrounds, methods of treatment and timelines to be release are varied. But those who experienced some of life’s most traumatic events share at least one thing in common: They may be discharged without proper clothing.
Those who undergo a sexual assault examination are often required to relinquish their clothing as evidence. Other patients may need to have their clothes cut off.
The remedy was disposable paper scrubs. Registered nurse Jenn Traxler and her mother, Regina Barton, wanted to change that.
The 35-year-old who joined the health system in 2008 launched in the spring a clothing initiative to provide free apparel to patients. Mount Nittany described its longtime employee as a “shining example” of someone who elicits positive change.
“It doesn’t matter what happens; we’re all human. Things happen to us every day. I want people to know there’s somebody out there that thinks that — no matter what happens, no matter what the situation is — you’re important,” Traxler said. “I want you to be comfortable. I want you to know that somebody thinks about the fact that you might come in soiled and that’s OK. That you might come in having had a trauma happen to you that was totally out of your control. We’re going to send you out hopefully feeling as comfortable as we can get you until you can get home.”
Traxler, who described herself as a devout Christian, was raised by a “very loving, close-knit family” in Cambria County. Barton was a stay-at-home mom and later worked for the United States Postal Service; her father works as a forester.
The family made use of yard sales, thrift stores and hand-me-downs to make ends meet. The family, Traxler said, was “always pinching a penny” to make sure they were dressed appropriately.
She grew up hoping to becoming a musician, but was steered toward nursing by the time she attended Mount Aloysius College. Traxler said she “fell in love” with the field.
Part of the work is helping people who may feel humiliated or embarrassed. Proper clothing, Traxler said, can give “some semblance of comfort when they leave the ER.”
“You don’t know the story. You don’t know what’s going to happen and what’s going to bring these people in,” Traxler said. “The least that we can do is put them in something comfortable to wear home.”
New or very gently used sweatpants, sweatshirts, T-shirts, sports bras, underwear and socks are among the items that Traxler is looking to gather for people of all ages, body types and genders.
Jeans and shoes that need to be tied are not at the top of the list; putting a pair of slacks over a broken leg or a wound can be challenging. Loungewear and shoes that can be easily worn and taken off are preferred.
“No matter what walk they come from,” Traxler said. “They deserve to be treated with kindness and courtesy and compassion.”