Each employee’s dress, grooming and personal hygiene must be appropriate for the work situation. The personal appearance of employees has a significant impact on the image of our organization. WCHS strives to present the best professional appearance possible for our patients and customers. Employees must be concerned with their appearance out of courtesy to patients, residents, families, fellow employees, visitors and vendors.

• Uniforms and general attire shall be clean, neat and moderate in style.

• Clean hands and fingernails are mandatory.

• Beards and mustaches must be clean, well trimmed and neat.

• Hair must be clean, combed, neatly arranged. Colors, such as blue, pink, green, etc. are acceptable provided the colors do not result in a disruption during care or other services provided by employees.  Colors that occur naturally from hair coloring such as maroon or purple tint are also acceptable.

• Strong perfumes are to be avoided.

• Excessive jewelry is to be avoided. Up to two earrings may be worn in each ear. One additional piercing is allowed in the face with the following restrictions: no barbells, chains, or gauges. No Septum Piercings are authorized. (“Bull Rings”) Nose piercings may only be a single, small stud or a small hoop. Hoops in the nose must be small enough that there is no space between the hoop and the flesh of the nose.  Any other visible body piercings such as eyebrows or lips are not allowed.

• Tattoos are allowed provided they do not disrupt operations or offend staff, residents, families, etc. If the latter occurs, the employee will be asked to cover the tattoos.

*Any employee in Direct Patient Care Departments and/or those departments that come into direct contact with and/or engage with patients and/or residents (Such as Nursing, Activities, Clinic Staff, Therapy, Pharmacy, Maintenance, Materials, EVS, Business Office, Lab, and Radiology) will be required to wear Closed-Toed Shoes.  Closed-Toed shoes should be protective, comfortable, and non-slip.

* Non-Direct Patient Care Departments such as Administration, Finance, and Human Resources may wear open-toed shoes however, sandals and flip-flops are not authorized.

• Suggestive or revealing (low cut blouses, tops, dresses or jeans), excessively tight or disheveled attire, bare midriffs, halter tops, tank tops, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts (jeans may be worn for fund raising and special activities or as approved by managers) are not appropriate dress. Leggings are not pants, however may be worn with tunic length tops which fully cover an employee’s rear and front. The top must maintain full coverage during bending and twisting of normal work. Bermuda or knee length shorts and Capri may be acceptable for some departments or certain events if approved by the department manager.  T-Shirts with work appropriate or work themed slogans may be worn with manager/director approval.

* For those in positions that are required to wear business casual clothing, the quality, durability, and the ability to last is important to our staff and we understand that, in order to do that, the employee must sometimes purchase higher priced, name-brand clothing with Logos.  Logos may be worn on business casual uniforms provided they are small and subtle.  Large, extreme, excessive sized logos are generally not authorized but may be worn in order to support community events or other events, but only if approved in advance by the department manager and the Human Resources Director.  Generally, small, subtle logos pose no cause for concern and shall be acceptable.  Please see the Human Resources Director for specific questions or additional approval.

• For patient care departments and those required to wear scrubs: classic scrub pants or skirts and classic tops are required. Scrub hoodies, scrub leggings, etc. will not be allowed.  There is no departmental color requirement for scrubs and patterns may also be worn provided they are not offensive.

• Employees typically are not allowed to wear any type of head cover. Exceptions are made for Dietary who can wear appropriate scrub caps/foodservice caps, and for Maintenance who may wear appropriate hats when outside in the weather.  Exceptions may be made for facility promotional or special events, religious purposes, or for specific health reasons approved by Human Resources.  Baseball caps, scarves, bandannas, visors, knit caps, berets, skull caps, etc. are examples of unacceptable head covers.  Celebratory headgear, such as Santa and Elf hats during the holidays, may be acceptable provided they are not distracting or offensive.

It is the responsibility of the Department manager to enforce the grooming and dress code for their department. Employees may be sent home if their attire is deemed inappropriate by their Department Manager. Employees may also be sent home to change if they have strong smelling fragrances on or smell of smoke . Repeated violations may result in progressive disciplinary action.

Name Badges: Name Badges with the employee’s picture are provided at the time of hire and are required to be worn by all employees. Badges must be worn above the waist line unless wearing the badge above the waist line would jeopardize the safety of the employee such as an IT Employee leaning over a shredder where the potential for the ID Card to get caught in the device places the employee in danger of injury or death. Employee is allowed one replacement for a lost or damaged name badge. Subsequent badges will cost $5.00.