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Walk planned in response to KKK recruitment fliers circulating in Wilkes-Barre

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Beginning a process aimed at making it easier for patients to identify hospital workers, all 3,000-plus registered nurses within the Geisinger Health System will wear pewter scrubs beginning Jan. 1.Susan M. Robel, Geisinger&#8217;s chief patient experience officer and executive vice president/chief nursing officer, said all caregivers with the same job title will eventually be dressed in the same colored scrubs.Scrubs for RNS are being ordered and licensed practical nurses will be the next group to select a color for their scrubs.The idea for the uniformity came when Geisinger merged with Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, a facility that had already implemented the same-color scrubs policy. Robel said pewter, or dark gray, was selected at Spirit Hospital, so Geisinger decided to keep that color for its RNs.The pewter scrubs may be worn with an alternative color, such as white pants, Robel said. A pediatric-friendly color will be worn by employees working with children, she said.&#8220;It&#8217;s about how we present ourselves to patients across the system,&#8221; Robel said. &#8220;We wanted a consistent look.&#8221;Robel said there has been little push-back from employees regarding the color and the concept.&#8220;But, overall, I&#8217;d say this has been accepted,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This is something that will help patients know who their caretakers are.&#8221;Robel said Geisinger decided to make the change based on feedback from patients who often said they couldn&#8217;t tell who was in their room or what their job was.&#8220;Absolutely we have heard from patients,&#8221; she said. &#8220;There has been research done nationally that has shown that patients can&#8217;t identify who is coming into their room.&#8221;She said Geisinger patients clearly indicated they can&#8217;t identify who their nurse is.Robel said the new concept is not unlike days gone by when nurses wore traditional white caps and uniforms. She said the new scrubs will offer a more professional appearance to workers.Each RN within the Geisinger system will be given a $150 clothing allowance to purchase the new scrubs, Robel said. She said Geisinger has retained Advance, which works with Holy Spirit and other hospitals in Pennsylvania, to provide uniforms to the nurses.&#8220;Our vendor will also offer a discount,&#8221; she said. &#8220;That should be enough to buy about a week&#8217;s worth of scrubs.&#8221;Robel said Geisinger&#8217;s physician staff is also looking at options to dress uniformly.Renita Fennick, spokeswoman for Commonwealth Health, said in 2011, the hospital implemented a color-coded policy that requires certain employees to wear certain colors.&#8220;This was done so that patients could identify the workers with whom they have contact,&#8221; Fennick said.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill O&#8217;Boyleboboyle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</shirttailMeta></div>

Geisinger to implement new color-coded scrub system