North Memorial Health recently began offering disposable hijabs at its hospitals, a step that staff say is a small gesture with a meaningful impact.
Typically before going into surgery, patients and health care staff put on a bouffant cap to cover their head as a piece of personal protective equipment, or PPE, to ensure a sterile environment. Now, they can choose to wear a disposable hijab instead. Several other local hospital systems also offer disposable hijabs. North Memorial rolled them out for the first time this summer.
Made of a breathable material, the hijabs come in two styles: one that can be wrapped around the neck similar to a traditional hijab, and another that can be pulled on over the head. Both of North Memorial’s hospitals in Robbinsdale and Maple Grove stock them.
The hijabs are a more culturally responsive option, but they also have an important hygienic purpose to prevent the spread of infection.
“Patients and team members shouldn’t feel like they have to choose between their faith and receiving or providing care, so this program helps bridge the gap,” said Zamzam Kussu, who works in policy and compliance at North Memorial, and previously worked in patient-facing roles such as a nursing assistant.
Kussu, who is Muslim, helped give feedback to hospital staff as they worked to implement the hijab program.
She said previously Muslim health care workers would have to take steps to ensure their hijab wasn’t exposed in an operating room. Health care workers need to scrub in and out before each procedure. Kussu said health care workers would need to remove their hijabs or ensure they were completely covered by PPE, like bouffant caps.
The bouffant caps are made of a more transparent material that didn’t meet modesty standards, and would frequently fall off. The disposable hijabs can easily be changed out between patients, and are made of a more opaque material.
North Memorial is buying the hijabs from Mawadda, a local startup founded by two Muslim respiratory therapists. After years of trying to tuck their hijabs underneath PPE, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the founders of Mawadda decided to create their own product. In addition to North Memorial Health, Mawadda also works with Hennepin Healthcare and other hospitals across the country.
Jessi Kingston, the system director at North Memorial, said she started looking into providing disposable hijabs after an operating room worker asked about them.
“I’m glad North listened and developed the inclusion to support both patients and team members, it’s a very good thing,” Kussu said.
The process to implement the disposable hijabs took several months and included testing to make sure they met the hospital’s operating room and infection prevention standards, Kingston said. Employees like Kussu also gave feedback on hijab samples and tested their style and fit.
For patients undergoing procedures, Kingston said offering the hijabs can be a small gesture that can help them feel more at ease. Oftentimes patients are vulnerable when at a hospital, and may be experiencing stressful situations.
“To the extent that we can recognize who they are, provide something that respects whether it’s their religion or their culture, and make that as seamless as possible, … I think it helps them in their health journey,” she said.
