FAQ
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
- Why start this company?
- What’s the real story behind Designer Hospital Gowns, DHG?
- Why do people think this idea is so crazy?
- Charitable Contributions surgicalcaps.com makes?
- What design innovations has Designer Hospital Gown made?
- What’s wrong with the regular cheap ugly gowns?
- Do you do custom orders?
- Tell us about your sewing contractor?
- Why you don’t use Velcro or metal snaps?
- What are the washing instructions?
- What disappointments have you encountered along the way?
- About the cost?
- Interested in a Brochure of Catalogue?
- What about your 1-800 number?
- Physical Stores? Sorry NO.
1) Why start this company?
Started in 1999, the ORIGINAL and ONLY DESIGNER HOSPITAL GOWNS. Why? Because I could find no one else making what a hospital gown really should be. All I found was boring & ugly pastel blues, pinks, yellows and repeating dots, diamonds or repeating snowflake patterns.
Now, doctors, nurses had beautiful colors and prints but no one really gave a crap about the patient's clothing, the sick people - "just grab one of those dull and uninspiring hospital gowns off that cart, one size" and that’s what your loved one or friend gets. Bad.
Not so anymore! At first it was just a thought, then a dream, then the dream quickly turned into a nightmare, a deep abyss, then back into an ideal dream – to help people and what's so funny about that, now it's a reality – OPEN for business 24 X 7 X 365 worldwide.
2) What’s the real story behind Designer Hospital Gowns?
It starts like any other day or night.
The phone rings and it’s the call you never want to get - someone, a loved one, a family member is down, hurt and in the hospital clinging to life. So you pack and rush hopping the red eye east trying to catch a moment of sleep while phoning ahead for patient updates. You arrive and scramble to the hospital.
Entering the hospital before dawn all is quiet. You wander your way, finding the ICU, Intensive Care Unit. Checking over the ICU waiting area people are spread out in-groups around the room. Some sleeping on floor, strewn over tables, children playing hiding and seek under chairs, some reading, others praying - this is the calm harbor in a storm where all of us are in the same boat. You dump your luggage down in a chair, wondering for a split second if it’s safe then moving quickly on to the ICU front desk. You repeat the patient's name over and over in your mind as they slowly check the charts. Where?
Approaching the ICU suites the medical noises become deafening. You quickly scan around the sub-rooms checking over each bed and face carefully. This is Life, This is Death. The nurse guides you around the drawn curtain. There is your loved one looking disheveled but alive and wearing a pastel blue tablecloth they call a HOSPITAL GOWN. You struggle with the fears, tears, joys and hopes all in an split instant. The days and nights come and go but soon enough they move you out and onto the next floor.
Sitting there day after day, test after test, bland meal after meal, I started to notice that the hospital gowns are ugly and not inspiring.
In the hallways I passed children playing wearing the same cheap dull gowns. While watching the patients walk around and around circling the medical station it reminded me of that scene in Midnight Express where all the prisoners are walking around in circles: "the bad machine doesn’t know it’s a bad machine." I thought people, human beings, deserve better than this crap and should demand better hospital gowns.
Why not? Why shouldn’t your friends, lovers, or loved ones deserve the best possible INSPIRING designer hospital gowns.
What can I do? What can you do? Designer Hospital Gowns and Surgical Caps were INSPIRED!
Almost everyday I come across another business roadblock, more regulations and deadlines but the road to success is paved with potholes. I just work harder and longer. If you could only see the patient's faces young and old when given a Designer Hospital Gown you’d know it’s the right thing to do by any means necessary.
3) Why do people think this idea is so crazy?
I don’t know, to give patients and families in their time of need top quality modern hospital gowns with the finest 100% cotton prints, what’s so crazy? WE THINK AND MANUFACTURE OUTSIDE THE BOX, NOT IN IT!
4) Explain the CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS surgicalcaps.com hospitalgowns.com makes?
Our business has a responsibility to give back to the world community. We believe in you and will promote across our social networks, donate funds, products, media tie ins and time throught out the year.
5) What design innovations has Designer Hospital Gown made?
We have introduced easy slip on hospital gowns, 2" overlapping backside coverage, dual pockets sized for telemetry units and personal items, a Waterfall neckline for comfort, shoulders & sleeves designed for full range of motion, extra long ties for additional sizing adjustments and easy back closure.
6) What’s wrong with the regular old gowns?
Everything! Just look at them. They are Boring, Cheap and 75 years over due for a CHANGE! Regular hospital gowns are no match for the quality and softness of today’s 100% cotton fabric prints.
7) Do you do custom orders?
We do SOME custom orders only for LARGE QUANTITIES. Please Contact Us with the details with ALL of your exact details. If getting Custom artwork designed to meet your specifications, Usually, 3000 yards is the minimum amount of 100% top quality cotton fabric to be cold / wet printed using high-grade reactive dyes manufactured overseas, outside the USA. About 3 months production time for the overseas fabric, plus shipping time by sea. Embroidery or Screen Printing achieves the best results for adding your logo to products. This is not cheap.
8) Tell us about your sewing contractor?
We sew all our products in the United States of America under non-sweatshop conditions. At any time workers can and will stop production to correct any problems. We always welcome their input and work together to make great products.
9) Why you don’t use metal snaps or Velcro, hook and loop?
Velcro / hook & loop, snaps on hospital gowns are inferior production methods. Velcro, metal snaps will rub, bite and scratches the patient's skin.
10) What are the washing instructions?
All of our Designer Hospital Gowns and Surgical Caps are 100% Cotton or 55% Cotton 45% Rayon blend, and should be washed separately, machine wash cold (warm ok), dark colors separately, NO Bleach, tumble dry low, hang or iron. Depending on the print colors, type of cotton fabric, thread construction and weave please expect less than 1% shrinkage that's less than 1/4". All of our hospital gowns, surgical caps, bouffant hats and stethosocks are generously cut to account for any shrinkage. NEVER, NEVER pull exposed threads, ALWAYS CUT the threads, NEVER pull threads off.
YES, We really wash and hot dry the products they are clean - WASHED & READY TO WEAR - The fabric manufacturers start by pre-washing the cotton fabric. After the fabrics are checked, cut, inventoried, bundled, sewn, trimmed, finished and re-checked. The FINAL GARMENT WASHING sequence begins with an all temperature free and clear hypoallergenic laundry detergent that is Dermatologist tested, free of perfumes or dyes, no phosphorus, then a free and clear biodegradable fabric softening agent (cationic) is added to the final rinse cycle for added softness and reduced wrinkle. Designer Hospital Gowns and Surgical Caps are hot tumble dried to attain controlled shrinkage then the hospital gowns, scrub caps, bouffant hats and stethosocks are re-trimmed, folded, invoiced and packaged in clear plastic bags ready for customer orders.
11) What disappointments have you encountered along the way?
LOTS in all areas! It is always very interesting to engage a new vendor’s sales people who know less about their own products and pricing than you do. I have found that 95% of companies I have tried to do business with, or pay money to for services NEVER return calls, faxes?, e-mails or do the due diligence required.
One very interesting encounter happened with an apparel company’s rep that I really want to do business with. They had great stuff but the catch came at the meeting I boldly said "I would just like to get started with a minimum order and what is the maximum product I can get to get started?" She told me that she doesn’t make any money on minimum orders and she was doing me a favor by even meeting with me and she wouldn’t be sending me the three samples that I had requested because it’s a waste of her time.
I explained to her that none of the top-big design companies started with tremendously large first orders. The companies that are willing to work with us now will be with us when we grow. 15 years later we are still in business and they are not. Be Kind is always an option.
12) About the Cost?
Sorry - We are not just making a typical cheap standard hospital gown. We could but we DON’T cut any corners period. The fabric prints are hand picked utilizing top quality medium weight 100% cottons - cotton/rayons mix. The premium wet/cold printing uses 5 to 15 vibrant colors. We use 2.5 times more top quality fabric per garment than your ordinary $75.00 Hawaiian shirts (hospital gowns are a full body length long). We add two pockets, shoulder seams for range of motion, bias necklines, 4 strap ties and bar tacking for strength. We use only the most durable sewing stitches: single needle, double needle, overlock, serging, bar tacking and a high stitch count per inch throughout your designer garment. We sew in the USA. We check, double check, triple check the hospital gowns, wash, soften, dry and package up every Designer Hospital Gowns & Surgical Caps before you wear it so it is ready to wear out of the package. Everyone must get paid a reasonable amount in order to support their families and businesses. We do not work alone; we work as a team and support many families.
We are not making the cheapest hospital gowns but we are making only the very best top quality Designer Hospital Gowns & Surgical Caps for life. Look Better, Feel Better.
13) Interested in a DHG Brochure or Catalogue?
Sorry, we no longer print a paper catalogue. We keep a virtual brochure/catalogue on the Internet – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can find all of our product information on this World Wide Web site. You can just use your Printer to PRINT out whatever pages you need. Again, every tidbit of product information can be found on the website click around or Contact Us.
14) What about your 1-800 number?
Our 1-800 number is not actively operated, but you may leave your voice mail message(s) 24 hours a day. Please slowly leave your question(s), name and phone number - Slowly and we will get back to you. We do monitor this voice mail line or you may e-mail us your question for faster service - thanks.
15) Physical Stores?
Sorry we are only on the internet, no pick ups and sell direct worldwide to the customer for over 15 years. Web based business no stores. Yes we do wholesale Contact Us for information. Thanks.