ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A new program at Golisano Children’s Hospital is aimed at making hospital stays a bit easier for children of color by providing hair care products and services tailored to diverse hair types.

Kenzii Dukes, who just turned 12, has a serious eye injury that often requires extended stays at the hospital. Her mom and aunt were doing their best to manage her hair, bringing in products and combs from home, until a nurse recently offered a variety of hair care products specifically designed for diverse hair.

“For African Americans, our hair means a lot to us and we’re already self-conscious because some of us don’t have the hair texture that we want and we do all these things to it so we can get the texture we want or the look that we want,” said Toni Foster, Kenzii’s aunt. “Wow if I felt this way, whoever would have thought the hospital would have felt the same and then introduce these things and bring them to us.”

The experience made Kenzii feel calmer and more like she was at a spa, rather than confined to a hospital room due to her injury. 

Tanisha Lewis is a nurse leader at Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“We found ourselves going out and purchasing hair products so if you know anything about 4C hair, it needs a lot of moisture and those products aren’t cheap,” she tells News10NBC.

That’s why Lewis and three other nurses helped to launch the Hair Equity Program. The hospital now collaborates with primarily Black-and-women-owned businesses to buy products, combs, bonnets, and silk pillowcases to offer to patients. Nurses and patient techs have also been trained on how to properly use them, and so far, about 250 Black and brown children have been served.

“We also take care of a lot of patients who have to have glue or leads put in their hair so we’re able now to provide products to help remove that glue from the monitoring devices without causing further hair damage,” explains Rebecca Kanaley, another nurse leader at Golisano who helped to start the program. 

The program also extends to those who observe religious covering practices, providing extra hair coverings for patients who are unexpectedly admitted and want to maintain their modesty while protecting their hair.

“When you have your hair done, I don’t care how bad you feel, just something about it makes you feel better,” said Toni Foster.

The plan is to expand the Hair Equity Program to the entire hospital this fall.

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