Henna and Hijabs, a Minneapolis-based, Black-, Muslim- and woman-founded company, has struck a deal with Children's Minnesota hospital to provide a new, modest pediatric hospital gown.
Children's Minnesota is the first in the country to offer a modesty gown for children and is piloting the Henna and Hijabs gown this month, according to a press release. The modesty gown comes in four sizes and features buttons that close and can be worn by the patient both front- or back-facing, has longer sleeves and buttons to attach a hijab. The gown was designed with Muslim patients in mind, but is available to any pediatric patient at Children's Minnesota.
"As part of our mission to champion the health needs of all kids, Children's Minnesota is committed to providing equitable and inclusive care through every aspect of a family's experience, right down to the medical gown kids wear during their stay at the hospital," said Dr. Emily Chapman,chief medical officer and senior vice president of Medical Affairs at Children's, in a press release. "Many kids spend a long time at the hospital and it's important that we provide all patients with culturally-sensitive and inclusive clothes that meet our medical standards. Our hope is that this serves as a model for other health systems and care providers."
In 2017, Henna and Hijabs founder Hilal Ibrahim was working at Methodist Hospital when her hijab became soiled with blood after giving a routine test to a patient. She did not have a replacement for the rest of her shift. Two years later, she launched the first medical-grade hijabs to hospitals and clinics around the Twin Cities. From there, she has partnered with Nordstrom for a luxury brand of hijabs in 2021 and launched warehouse-worker safe hijabs in 2023 .
"The modesty gown, a long overdue innovation, merges health care and fashion design expertise," Ibrahim said in a release. "Historically, patient gowns have largely not seen redesign that addresses inclusivity to this scale. We know that culturally inclusive care leads to improved patient experience, which is why it is so important that these kinds of options are available for patients from all backgrounds."
