DonFast Isolation Gowns

Story Behind the Invention

I began my healthcare career in 2007, at 17 years old, and have worked in various patient care roles ever since. The invention of DonFast Isolation Gowns was possible due to my exposure to surgical practices in the operating room during my time working as an anesthesia technician.

In the 5 years I worked in the OR, I witnessed countless amounts of surgeons, surgical techs, and other medical staff don sterile surgical gowns in preparation for surgery. The surgeon enters the suite by pushing the door open with their back. Arms out in front of their body, elbows bent, and palms toward their face, he/she walks straight to the table, carefully picking up the gown with such intention that it captures the attention of bystanders. The surgeons intention is to don the gown without contaminating anything on the surgical table and without contaminating the outside surface of the sterile gown. To maintain a sterile surgical environment (and desired patient outcomes), sterile gowns are specially folded, exposing pockets on either side that provide openings for the wearers hands and arms. The rest of the gown falls into place in one swift motion. Sterile surgical gowns are designed specifically to meet the users needs.

In 2017 I began my transition from anesthesia tech to full-time nursing student and mother. Clinical rotations familiarized us with the process of caring for patients on isolation precautions. Any patient with a contagious infection (cold, flu, c-diff, etc.) is isolated to their room with strict rules for staff members to abide by while providing care. Pathogens are easily carried on clothing and shared items, which is why a clean (not sterile) isolation gown is required every time a healthcare worker enters an isolation room, and it must be worn throughout all patient care tasks. In hospitals and healthcare facilities, donning of isolation gowns is widely known to be a tedious, yet unavoidable element of providing direct patient care, which has worsened significantly since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

In my final semester of nursing school (2019), our project was to come up with an invention that would improve patient care. I felt strongly about making improvements to the gown donning process, as it was upsetting to feel restricted in meeting the needs of my patients on isolation precautions. I initially imagined a complex system that just wasnt feasible. I continued to brainstorm ideas until my past experiences bubbled to the surface and I realized that if the same fold of surgical gowns was applied to isolation gowns, the user could don a gown in a matter of seconds instead of minutes! Upon demonstrating the donning of the new gown to the class, my peers and nursing instructor were astonished, speechless. As the class gave a round of applause, I felt encouraged, and that we might actually have a real solution to this problem.

Problem: Standard gowns are currently packaged in a way that is convenient for the manufacturer, rather than being designed to meet the needs of the wearer. Isolation gowns serve the purpose of providing a physical barrier, protecting against spread of infection and they are also a substantial barrier to quality patient care and outcomes. Patients on isolation precautions are at higher risk for potential complications due to the unpredictable nature of infections, and they deserve a timely response to their needs just like any other patient.

DonFast Isolation Gowns have universal applications in private and public health sectors. Patient outcomes and staff satisfaction will improve anywhere they are used, as these gowns ensure that the wearer can do their job without being further burdened by poorly designed packaging and folding. Healthcare workers are accustomed to overcoming barriers on a daily basis, and most have accepted that it takes 1-2 min to don isolation gowns. Facilities that provide these gowns will demonstrate true appreciation for their employees. When a patient needs a nurses help, every second matters, making DonFast Isolation Gowns the solution.