Saints Medical Staff Stars in Pink Glove Video

(Editor's note: The following information was submitted by the administration of Saints Medical Center.)

The Pink Glove Dance is spreading … to Saints Medical Center! More than 100 staff members at Saints Medical Center are starring in their own Pink Glove Dance video to help spread the word about breast cancer awareness and prevention. The video was submitted to a national competition to determine the best Pink Glove Dance video. The competition is sponsored by Medline Industries, Inc., manufacturer of the gloves and producer of the original Pink Glove Dance video.

As part of the contest, Saints Medical Center’s video will be posted on www.pinkglovedance.com on October 3 along with the videos of the other participants to be viewed by the public. Viewers can then vote on their favorite video (voting requires a Facebook® account). The top three winners receive a donation in their name to the breast cancer charity of their choice, such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The winners will be announced October 28 on www.pinkglovedance.com. The video can also be viewed on YouTube (www.youtube.com) on the “SaintsCWI” channel under “Pink Glove Dance”.

“Once we saw the original video, we immediately wanted to get involved to help make a difference at our facility, in our community and even around the country,” said Erin Caples, Senior Analyst at Saints Medical Center. “Our employees were so excited and inspired to be part of our own Pink Glove Dance.   It was not only a lot of fun to participate, but the awareness and discussion about breast cancer we’re going to create from the video is the real satisfaction we’re hoping to take away from this experience.”     

The song used in Saints Medical Center video was “Down” by Jay Sean. An interesting side note is that the artist gave permission to use this song specifically for the Pink Glove Dance competition. 

The original Pink Glove Dance video premiered in November 2009 and featured 200 Portland, Ore. hospital workers wearing pink gloves and dancing in support of breast cancer awareness and prevention. Today the video has more than 13 million views on YouTube® and has spawned hundreds of pink glove dance videos and breast cancer awareness events across the country. A sequel was produced last October featuring 4,000 healthcare workers and breast cancer survivors throughout North America.     

Medline filmed the original Pink Glove Dance video at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore., which quickly generated thousands of responses, letters and e-mails from survivors, family and friends. It has entertained and inspired laughter and, for many, it has evoked memories of their own battle with breast cancer or experiences faced by loved ones.

 “As a way to extend our breast cancer awareness campaign, we developed a pink glove called Generation Pink™,” said Andy Mills, president of Medline.  “Gloves are also the first point of contact between the healthcare worker and the patient. And, because the glove is pink, we hoped it would get people talking about breast cancer.”

Medline is donating a portion of each sale of the pink gloves to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). To date, Medline has donated more than $800,000 to the NBCF to fund mammograms for individuals who cannot afford them.

 Why a Pink Glove Video Contest?

As a result of the original Pink Glove Dance video and the sequel videos, Medline has received hundreds of calls from healthcare facilities, breast cancer survivor groups, schools and other organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada inquiring about participating in another video.  

“The response we received has been overwhelming and heartwarming,” said Sue MacInnes, Medline’s chief marketing officer. “We were flooded with calls, e-mails and letters about the joy the videos have brought, and people were asking if they could participate in another video. We didn’t want to leave anyone out who wanted to be in a Pink Glove Dance video, so we thought a competition could include everyone who wanted to participate. All these videos from the competition will help bring attention to breast cancer awareness and prevention.”