POLICY No: (p) Originated By: Human Resources Original Date: June 1, 1991 Policy Owner(s): Human Resources Last Review Date: July, 2013 Last Revised Date: 10/2012 4/1997 10/1999 11/1992 9/2001 2/2005 6/2001 2/2009 4/2009 8/2008 8/2013 Approval: President and Chief Executive Officer or Designee Policy Committee (Signatures on file) I. POLICY Personal appearance and hygiene are crucial to the public relations and professional image of The MetroHealth System (MHS). All employees are to dress in a manner that reflects our commitment to providing professional service and high quality patient care. Each employee is expected to demonstrate appropriate personal appearance and hygiene standards. Departments may develop and communicate additional guidelines that meet or exceed those outlined in this policy, provided they are reviewed by Labor/Employee Relations. In addition, this policy must be observed during any hospital business activities, i.e. staff meetings, conferences, education days, etc II. III. IV. PURPOSE To establish a standard of professional and personal appearance for the MetroHealth workforce. SCOPE The MetroHealth System GUIDELINES Employees are expected to be well groomed while representing MHS. All clothing must be clean, neat, ironed, and in good repair. Extremes of dress, jewelry and hairstyle are not acceptable. A. Acceptable Dress 1. Suits: Sport coats, blazers. 2. Skirts/Dresses: Skirts and dresses no more than 4 inches above the knee. Summer dresses that are professional in nature may be worn, provided the sleeves are at least the entire width of the shoulder. 1
3. Pants: Dress pants, slacks, trousers, Dockers, corduroy, cotton, khakis, dress capri pants, gauchos, cropped dress pants (ankle length). 4. Shirts: a) Men Collared dress shirts with ties (unless in uniform or prohibited by department standards for safety reasons), sweaters with collared shirts or turtlenecks. b) Women Blouses, sweaters, dress jackets, sleeveless dress shirts - as long as the entire width of the shoulder is covered and provides adequate coverage. 5. Shoes: Shoes must be clean, in good appearance and safe. Appropriate shoes include: Loafers, boat/deck shoes, dress shoes with or without heel, or dress boots. Open-toed dress shoes may be worn in administrative areas. Tennis/sport shoes may be worn in areas where nursing style shoes are typical; Crocs/Croc-like clogs are permitted in patient care areas provided that they meet safety standards and do not have any holes or perforations. 6. Socks: Socks, nylons or knee-highs. Females working in administrative areas of the hospital are not required to wear nylons, as long as they maintain good personal hygiene and a professional appearance with their attire. B. Unacceptable Dress 1. Skirts/Dresses/Skorts Shorter than 4 inches above the knee; denim-wear of any color. 2. Pants Denim jean style clothing of any color; shorts, pedal pushers, Capri pants that are casual or beach attire, stirruppants, leggings, sweat suits, sweat pants, warm-up pants, coveralls. 3. Shirts T-shirts; halter tops; low-cut, backless tube tops; offthe-shoulder tanks; tanks without a jacket; cropped shirts/midriffs; undershirts; muscle shirts; flannel shirts. No denim-wear shirts or jackets of any color. 4. Shoes Flip flops, bare feet, slippers, open-back beach-type shoes, casual sandals, and casual boots. Employees working in patient care areas may not wear sandals at any time during their shift. Tennis/sport shoes and/or crocs/croc-like shoes may not be worn in an office setting with professional business attire. 2
5. Socks - Fishnet stockings and designer nylons with holes may not be worn at work. 6. Head garments Hats or bandana style scarves. a) Exceptions: Surgical caps in operating rooms, religious headwear, or safety hats. 7. General Clothing: a) Distressed clothing (dirty, stained, ripped, torn, and/or frayed). b) Spandex clothing. c) Revealing, form-fitting or see-through clothing. d) Clothing that promotes alcohol, religion, tobacco products, racial statements, sexual innuendos or political viewpoints. (1) Note: Periodically, for special occasions or fundraising events, management may announce dress down days or theme days. Examples of appropriate attire during these days will be identified in the announcement. C. The MHS identification badge is to be worn at all times while on MHS property. ID badges should be prominently displayed, above the waist, on a lanyard, or affixed to the lapel of a suit jacket or collar. Pins and stickers may not be affixed to ID badges; pins may be on lanyards provided they are not of a political, offensive, or controversial nature. D. Jewelry - Any jewelry worn must be appropriate for the environment and safety of staff and patients. Jewelry and accessories worn by any employee should be limited to that which provides simple, conservative, and professional appearance. Employees providing patient care are asked to limit jewelry and accessories for safety reasons. a. Piercings - Employees may wear up to two earrings in each ear. No other jewelry may be worn in piercings on the face, head, neck, ears or visible parts of the body unless it can be demonstrated to be a recognized religious or cultural custom and practice and the employee receives approval from his / her direct supervisor in accordance with this policy. b. Jewelry worn in pierced tongues is considered visible jewelry. 3
E. Tattoos - Employees are required to cover tattoos with appropriate covering in order to create a professional environment for our patients and visitors. Single, small tattoos, such as an ankle flower or ring tattoo are permitted, provided they are not on the face and do not cover more than approximately two square inches of skin. F. Hair - Hair must be clean, combed and neatly trimmed or arranged. Hair coloring is limited to naturally occurring colors or shades. Employees wishing to color their hair should do so in a color that is genetically natural - blonde, black, brown, red, etc. Hair that is dyed an unnatural color - blue, pink, green, etc. - is not allowed. Workforce members in patient care areas must tie back long hair; sideburns, mustaches, and beards should be trimmed close to the face. G. Hygiene - Appearance should be neat and clean with a professional image appropriate to the area served. Body odor and bad breath are offensive to patients and coworkers. H. Nails - Fingernails are to be clean and well-manicured. 1. Employees who interact with patients, or have contact with a patient s environment must adhere to the following standards: a) No artificial nails or nail extenders b) Nails must be kept less than ¼ of an inch in length c) Nails with polish must be free of chipping I. Personal headphones (wired and wireless) are prohibited in public and should follow departmental guidelines. Activated pagers and cell phones are prohibited in patient care areas, except those provided by MHS to its employees for use on duty J. Uniforms Departmental standards and uniforms are allowed, but they must meet or exceed the basic principles set forth by MetroHealth. 1. MHS provides uniforms to employees in select job classifications. Each department is responsible for the maintenance, distribution and collection of all uniforms required for their area. 2. All employees who are required to wear uniforms must appear on duty in the appropriate uniform. 3. Employees who are issued uniforms, scrubs and/or lab coats are also responsible for safeguarding them from loss and damage. 4
V. ENFORCEMENT 4. All uniforms and lab coats must be accounted for or paid for when an employee terminates. Failure to do this will result in the employee's final paycheck being charged for non-returned uniforms. 5. Patient isolation garments, surgical gowns, and shoe covers ARE to be worn per infection control guidelines, and must be discarded when leaving designated areas. 6. All personnel wearing hospital provided scrubs must adhere to departmental dress code guidelines regarding the use of lab coats and/or warm up jackets. A. Managers are responsible for enforcing dress and grooming standards in their areas of responsibility. This includes counseling employees whose appearance is inappropriate. Employees inappropriately dressed may be sent home to correct a dress or grooming issue. Points will be assessed for the absence. VI. REFERENCES A. Casual Dress Policy II-44 5