Metro Roundup: Showing UAB patients the smiles beneath the masks

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted people working in healthcare, especially those taking care of coronavirus patients, said Dr. Michael Straughn, a gynecologic oncologist at the UAB Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

However, “patients have been affected the most,” said Straughn, a Mountain Brook resident.

“Access to medical care, fear of COVID and an inability to have family members attend appointments are major stressors for patients,” he said.

UAB providers have adapted so they can still see patients, using virtual visits, masking and social distancing, Straughn said.

However, the masks mean that patients and healthcare workers can’t see each other’s faces, adding more anxiety to the process.

“Giving bad news to patients is difficult when they can’t see your facial expressions,” Straughn said.

Fortunately for the patients and caregivers in Straughn’s unit, his daughter Emily stepped in to help.

Straughn told Emily that some of his patients missed being able to see their care team members smiling, and vice versa.

“It made me sad that patients couldn’t see their doctors and nurses’ facial expressions,” Emily said. “A simple smile can ease a patient’s fear or anxiety.”

So Emily designed and made personalized buttons for each healthcare worker in her dad’s area with the person’s picture and the slogan, “Under My Mask Is My Smile.”

“Patients love them and we have gotten a lot of positive feedback,” her father said. “Several departments at UAB have requested them for their faculty and nurses.”

“Everyone has been very appreciative when they received their buttons,” Emily said.

A 10th grader at Mountain Brook High School, Emily got the idea for the buttons from a school activity.

The high school makes “Brag Buttons” for the parents of athletes for them to wear to sporting events, she said.

“I thought buttons would be the perfect solution because patients could see the faces of their doctors and nurses,” Emily said.

She began production in October, working together with her father.

“She uses an app on her phone and prints the pictures from our home printer,” Straughn said in January. “We’ve made over 500 buttons. We have enjoyed making them together and have gotten very efficient at it.”

“My dad and I have had fun making the buttons at night and delivering them,” Emily said. “I have gone to the hospital several times to take pictures of nurses and doctors.”

“I’m very proud of Emily for coming up with the idea and making it happen,” Straughn said.

The respect is mutual. “I’m proud of my dad because he makes time for his patients and his family,” Emily said.

Born and raised in Mountain Brook, Straughn attended Princeton University and finished medical school at UAB.

The buttons aren’t the first example of Emily showing she’s a caring person, Straughn said.

“She’s involved in activities at her church and loves going to Camp Skyline each summer,” he said. “She is a dedicated student-athlete, but is a really good friend and has a big heart.”

Emily attends Brookwood Baptist Church and plays on the girl’s basketball team at MBHS. “It’s a great place to get an education and be involved in extracurricular activities,” she said.

She may follow in her dad’s footsteps in her career. “I like the medical field,” she said.

Emily has also learned an important lesson during the pandemic.

“I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with my family, and it has made me appreciative of the small things in life,” she said.