Comfrey youth group creates mammography capes

"Occasionally, we have patients coming in for a mammogram who have limited arm mobility," said Jessica Nachreiner, a mammography technologist at Allina Health Springfield Clinic. "Capes or sleeveless gowns are a great alternative for those patients."

New capes were not in the clinic's budget, but that did not stop Nachreiner's quest to find a solution. For 15 years, she has been a parent leader with the Comfrey Comets 4-H Club in Minnesota's Brown County. As a mother of three and a self-described task master, she thought this would be the perfect project for the club. She immediately enlisted the help of club president Zoe Evers.

"I enjoy sewing, but it isn't taught in our school anymore," said Evers. "I thought this would help other club members learn about sewing while also giving back to the community."

With her 4-H team on board, Nachreiner applied for the University of Minnesota Extension's Helping Hands Award for 4-H programs. They received $750. With that money, they started buying materials in May, which turned out to be more challenging than expected. They needed 50 yards of heavy, hospital-grade fabric. Plus, they wanted a color that felt inviting and empowering to patients. Samples were either too thin or too thick or did not work. The ones that did work were often on backorder. It was not until early November that the club's perfect purple fabric arrived.

"I couldn't really find a pattern that matched our needs. I just sort of had to come up with my own pattern, even though I'm not a sewer," said Nachreiner, who relied on her memory of mammography capes she'd worked with in the past.

Armed with the fabric and the pattern, the team got to work. Two experienced sewers helped ensure good craftsmanship. The younger 4-H Club members helped cut out the fabric and work on the snaps, while the older kids helped the adults with the sewing. The hard-working team completed 40 capes in under a month.

"I am very proud of the kids for stepping up," said Nachreiner. "The opportunities in 4-H are endless for kids to learn. These kids got a chance to learn sewing, how to work as a team, and best of all, they got to help others in the process."

The Comfy Comets 4-H Club presented the gown to the mammography department at Allina Health Springfield Clinic on Nov. 20, to mammography technologist Megan Hirsch's delight. She thanked the group.

"These will be a great option for our patients," said Hirsch.