Today, leading healthwear company Care+Wear and international luxury goods firm Oscar de la Renta announced the launch of their first joint project, the Care+Wear x Oscar de la Renta Chest Access Hoodie. The Hoodie is designed for patients undergoing treatment for cancer or other conditions via a chest port-a-cath or central line. This special collaboration, with versions available for both women and men, honors the late designer Oscar de la Renta, who passed away from cancer in 2014.
Oscar de la Renta, LLC is donating 500 men and women’s Hoodies to help patients at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The Care+Wear x Oscar de la Renta Chest Access Hoodie will also be available for purchase online atwww.careandwear.com, with a percentage of profits of future sales going to helping cancer patients on an ongoing basis on behalf of Care+Wear and Oscar De La Renta.
“We are thrilled to be working with Oscar de la Renta on a product that will ease the treatment process for patients,” says Care+Wear CEO and Co-Founder Chat Razdan. “When Oscar was ill, elegant, wearable clothing solutions specifically for patients did not exist. Using our unique product development approach to work in conjunction with patients, clinicians at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Oscar de la Renta, we have created a modern design that is both fashionable and functional.”
Made of a soft French terry and available in navy and rose, the Care+Wear x Oscar de la Renta Chest Access Hoodie is designed to provide comfort, access and warmth. The design features two clinically compatible diagonal zippers on either size of the chest to allow clinicians to easily access a patient’s treatment area without the patient having to undress. The Hoodie features a high neck line with snaps at the top of the zippers so that treatment lines can reach the chest area while still keeping the patient warm in the hospital.
Staff at Sylvester, including Director of Clinical Operations for the Office of the Director at Sylvester, Jessica MacIntyre, M.S.N., ARNP, provided critical input on the design, sharing clinician perspectives. “This innovative apparel will improve the experience of patients who, unfortunately, have to spend considerable amounts of time receiving treatment,” said Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., Director of Sylvester. “We are proud to premiere this personalized element and add it to the care we provide to our patients at Sylvester.”
“As a designer, Oscar was very focused on finding solutions for the lifestyle needs of our customers,” explains Alex Bolen, CEO of Oscar de la Renta. “Likewise, we are pleased to offer a solution for patients with port access needs – a need that Oscar himself faced. In particular, helping the patient community of Sylvester means a great deal to us as Dr. Nimer has been such a great friend to our family. Oscar would have been proud to use fashion to enhance the lives of patients facing cancer treatment. We are lucky to have found a great partner in Care+Wear to help make this project a reality.”
“This kind of teamwork is the future of the healthwear industry,” Razdan adds. “We hope that we can not only honor a legendary designer, but also show the impact that these kinds of products can have on the patient experience.”
About Care+Wear
Founded in 2014, Care+Wear is a leading provider of innovative healthwear focused on creating positive and effective healing experiences for patients everywhere. In collaboration with patients, clinicians and hospitals, Care+Wear’s products address the comfort of patients by providing wearable solutions that are both functional and fashionable. Dedicated to giving back, Care+Wear gives a portion of its sales to non-profit foundations such as Stand Up To Cancer, the American Cancer Society, Global Lyme Alliance and RockCF, among other partners, to help patients and families before, during and after medical treatment. Care+Wear works with leagues such as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association so that patients can support their favorite teams while undergoing treatment. For more information, visitwww.careandwear.com.
About Oscar de la Renta
Established in New York City in 1965, Oscar de la Renta is one of the world’s leading luxury brands. In addition to its internationally renowned women’s ready-to-wear collection, the house encompasses a full line of women’s accessories, bridal, children’s, fragrance and home décor.
About Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is among the nation’s leading cancer centers and South Florida’s only Cancer Center of Excellence. A 2015 study by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that cancer patients treated at Sylvester have a 10 percent higher chance of survival than those treated at nearly any other cancer center in the nation. With the combined strength of more than 120 cancer researchers and 130 cancer specialists, Sylvester discovers, develops and delivers more targeted therapies, providing the next generation of cancer clinical care – precision cancer medicine – to each patient. Our comprehensive diagnostics, coupled with teams of scientific and clinical experts who specialize in just one type of cancer, enable us to better understand each patient’s individual cancer and develop treatments that target the cells and genes driving the cancer’s growth and survival, leading to better outcomes. At Sylvester, patients have access to more treatment options and more cancer clinical trials than most hospitals in the southeastern United States. To better serve current and future patients, Sylvester has a network of conveniently located outpatient treatment facilities in Miami, Coral Gables, Kendall, Hollywood, Plantation, Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs. For more information, visit Sylvester.org.
Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.