St. Peter’s Health Partners Announces Uniform Colors to Enhance the Patient Experience

Beginning January 2, 2019, all St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP) hospitals will move to standardized uniform colors for nursing staff and some front line and support staff.

The new uniforms will help simplify the provider identification process for our patients and their loved ones. With standardization, patients will know quickly who is caring for them, enhancing the patient experience.

The designated colors by role will be as follows:

• Registered Nurse (RN): WINE
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN): TEAL
• Exercise Physiologist: GRAY
• Patient Care Technician (PCT): ROYAL BLUE
• Service Associates: CEIL BLUE
• All Nurse Manager, Clinical Care Coordinator, Educator, and Admission Facilitator colleagues: Either business casual clothing or the RN nursing scrubs; they are to wear a WHITE lab coat over either their business casual clothing or RN nursing scrubs on the unit
• Associate, Information Associates (IA), Scheduling Associate, and Care Coordinator colleagues: Business casual clothing with the NAVY BLUE IA jacket; IAs working in the Operating Room may wear scrubs in accordance with infection control policies

This change is a direct result of feedback from our patients, their families, and our colleagues. Standard uniforms are becoming a best practice nationwide; multiple research studies indicate they have been proven to improve patient safety and experience.

During a typical hospital stay, a patient is visited by dozens of SPHP colleagues. While nearly everyone identifies themselves and their role, it can be confusing during an already overwhelming and stressful time. Our new policy enhances professionalism while helping patients and families distinguish caregiver roles.

A multidisciplinary committee collaborated on this program, developing the color assignments and updating our dress code. While the colors assigned hold no specific significance to the roles, RNs, LPNs, and PCTs were given the opportunity to vote their preference on the color selected.