Staff at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, Calif., are going pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2010. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Sutter Lakeside Hospital (SLH) declared Friday, Oct. 15, as Pink Glove Day.

Patients, family members and visitors alike saw SLH employees in high-traffic patient care areas wearing the pink gloves beginning on Friday and continuing through the weekend.

“I’ve worked on raising money for breast cancer since I was 7 years old,” said James Huston, Materials manager at Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Cancer has affected my family personally as well as many of my fellow workers here at Sutter Lakeside.”

Huston, who is responsible for procurement services at SLH, ordered the pink gloves from Medline who donates a portion of the each box purchased to breast cancer awareness.

“We are in the health care business and this disease affects entire families,” Huston said. “Anything that we can do to promote research to eliminate or find a cure, we should do. If that means we have to wear pink gloves, we will wear pink gloves.”

Huston continued, “We are hoping to make this an annual event for Sutter Lakeside, and we hope that it grows from pink glove day to pink glove week and then ultimately to pink glove month.”

Ideas from SLH employees have already begun pouring in as to other ways to bring awareness to breast cancer.

The director of medical imaging, Don Pifer, has decided to stock the pink gloves in the mammography suite all year long.

“Breast cancer does not affect families only in the month of October. It happens every day,” said Pifer. “We want our patients to know that we are always committed to breast cancer awareness. Pink is here to stay!”

The medical imaging department at SLH offers digital mammography and breast MRI scans. If you would like to make an appointment or if you have any questions, please call us at 707-262-5030.

At Sutter Lakeside Hospital, pink is here to stay!