PPE Portraits Canada

Please use this form if you are a healthcare professional in the city of Montreal: https://link.ppeportraits.ca/Montreal.

Please use this form if you are a healthcare professional in the city of Toronto: https://link.ppeportraits.ca/Toronto.

Please use this form if you are a healthcare professional in the province of British Columbia: https://link.ppeportraits.ca/BC.

The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Portrait Project is a hybrid art & medical intervention designed to improve patient care and team dynamics by humanizing the alienating appearance of PPE, through warm, smiling headshot portraits fixed to the outside of the healthcare worker’s PPE. This is meant to:

1. Reduce patient isolation and fears.
2. Increase trust and connection with the healthcare professional.
3. Increase patient awareness of who is taking care of them.
4. Humanize healthcare workers and increase team dynamics.

This project was created by Mary Beth Heffernan (www.ppeportrait.org), who developed the PPE portrait guidelines in consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO)-Liberia Case Management Team during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. This project is now being applied to the COVID-19 pandemic at numerous medical centers.

“When they drove up to me, I would introduce myself and point to my picture saying, 'This is me under all this,' she explains. One patient actually said, ‘I love your picture.’ ... It enhanced my interaction with my patients, as they were able to see me and not just a full suit of PPE.”

Due to changes in PPE requirements with COVID-19, Montreal's Intensive Care Unit Bridge Program (ICUBP, www.icubridgeprogram.org) launched the PPE Portraits Project in April 2020, and has successfully incorporated the project in numerous hospitals and departments. If you would like to hear more about this project, feel free to watch this 2-minute interview clip: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1760124483625.

The ICUBP is helping support students across Canada bring PPE portraits to their cities and hospitals through PPE Portraits Canada. The ICUBP and PPE Portraits Canada teams have consulted with both Mary Beth Heffernan and her colleague Catherine Brown Johnson (Stanford University) while developing the project for application Canada-wide.

1. These pictures will be printed and organized in alphabetical order at your site.
2. You can choose to have your photo printed as either:
   1. Single-use labels: Single-use stick-on photos to be applied on the outermost layer of PPE and discarded along with worn PPE.
   2. Permanent laminated: Laminated photo badges that can be sanitized and re-worn.
   3. BOTH: Both laminated portrait (when not donning full PPE) and single-use portraits (when donning full PPE).
3. We will provide clips/magnets to be used with your portrait.

We generally recommend choosing either options #2 ("Permanent laminated") and #3 ("BOTH"), as the permanent laminated versions are:

• Less wasteful
• Perfect when  donning a simple surgical mask and/or if you are not as directly involved in patient care and want to improve your interactions with colleagues.

Please note: PPE Portraits Canada will not publish or use any personal information provided in this form outside of the context of this project without your permission.

Note: Please only fill out the non-mandatory question below "Phone Number" if you consent to having a member of the PPE Portraits Canada team call you.

This is to ensure we get your portrait to you in a timely manner.

University of Ottawa healthcare students: a pick-up station will be held at RGN2046 (451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1) from 8am-4pm Monday to Friday. Pease select "RGN2046" for questions "Ottawa Hospital" and "Ottawa Hospital's Unit/Department".

Ottawa healthcare professionals: please select or type in the appropriate hospital and unit/department where you'd like the portraits delivered. If your hospital and/or unit/department isn't listed, please specify by selecting the option "Other".

We will notify you by email when your portrait has been delivered.

Pickup location: the portraits will likely be delivered to the McMaster Children's Hospital resident lounge. 

We will notify you by email when your portrait has been delivered.

We are continuing to develop the most efficient method of delivering portraits in Saskatoon for both our PPE Portraits Canada team and for the healthcare professionals that request portraits. We will do our best to deliver directly to the hospital and/or unit/department that you indicate below. If your hospital and/or unit/department isn't listed, please specify by selection the option "Other".

We may follow-up with you by email or phone regarding deliveries.

Please upload a picture of yourself (using a smarphone or camera) that is:

1. Well-lit 
2. Where you are looking directly into the camera
3. Where your face fills the frame

When choosing which photo to submit, think to yourself: “what is the smile you wish your patients could see?”. As such, do not provide a laughing nor a grave/serious image.

File name: In order to help the PPE Portraits Canada team organize the pictures/headshots by site and by alphabetical order, rename your picture file: 

"(City) First Name Last Name"

Example: If my name is "John McDonald" and I work in "Saskatoon", I would rename the file "(Saskatoon) John McDonald"

If you have any outstanding questions, please feel free to mention them below or email: info@ppeportraits.ca

Montreal, Quebec's ICU Bridge Program for their logistical/workflow support.

Montreal, Quebec's Business Box for their printing services.

Paige Parsons for her financial support.