Detroit Designed “Model G” Licensed to Medline Industries, Inc.

DETROIT – The highly coveted Model G patient gown is one major step closer to becoming available for sale. Henry Ford Health System has signed a licensing agreement with Chicago area based Medline Industries, Inc., to manufacture, market, and distribute the hospital gowns. It’s a long-anticipated deal that will finally make the gowns available to hospital and health systems around the country.

Michael Forbes, product designer and licensing associate for the Henry Ford Innovation Institute www.henryfordinnovation.com, says the Model G already has a substantial customer base, no doubt, in large part, due to its celebrity status. “I think it’s because it touches on so many people’s lives and their experiences. We’ve been on The Today Show, we’ve been on Ellen, we’ve been featured on NCIS… it’s really gone viral and we never even expected this.” Forbes says requests have poured in from facilities in and around metro Detroit and throughout the state of Michigan, but also from cities like New York and Chicago, and beyond – “We’ve received interest from the Netherlands, all the way to Australia.”

The Model G is a type of wrap-around robe that blends style and comfort for the patient with essential features needed for doctors, nurses, x-ray technicians, and other hospital staff to provide care. It uses a series of size-adjusted plastic snaps, instead of cloth ties. And the most notable feature? It closes the patient’s backside, putting an end to those drafty and embarrassing moments. In a series of clinical trials performed at Henry Ford Hospitals, patients loved it. This past spring, more than 35,000 of the gowns were rolled out for use in various clinical units throughout Henry Ford Health System. This new deal with Medline will soon make the gowns available to any health and hospital system in the U.S.

“As the market leader in patient apparel, Medline is committed to bringing our customers and their patients the latest advances in function and comfort. As designs continue to improve, it is critically important they still meet basic requirements, such as appropriate access during patient exams, durability, ease of care, and value,” says Tim Abate, textiles division president, Medline. “The Model G gown meets those requirements, while still offering added comfort and coverage. Medline is excited to serve as the provider of the Model G gowns.”

The concept for the Model G began with a simple idea a little over three years ago – take a fresh, non-clinical look at items throughout the hospital and generate ideas for improvement. Immediately, the hospital gown emerged as both an opportunity and a challenge. “It’s a great example of what I call ‘mission based innovation’ – it’s ideas, concepts, new technologies and processes that come out of the everyday practice of healthcare,” says Chief Innovation Officer Mark Coticchia.

Designers and engineers from both Henry Ford Health System and Medline are now working on final details including fabric standards and sizing options. The gowns could be made available as early as April of 2016. Medline has established an email for inquiries: ModelG@Medline.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Brenda D. Craig, MFA

Director, Media Relations

Henry Ford Health System

313-876-8709 (office)

313-283-8331 (mobile)

bcraig3@hfhs.org

Stacy Rubenstein

Media Relations Specialist

Corporate Communications

Medline Industries, Inc.

847-949-2286 (office)