In her nearly 40 years of nursing at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison, Becky Podobnik says her scrubs have seen it all.
“I’ve watched people recover, and I’ve watched people die,” she said. “I’ve comforted families, and I’ve sat with that person who is scared in the middle of the night because they can’t breathe.”
Podobnik is among 90 employees to donate old scrubs for a traveling exhibit, Art of Caring, throughout the 14 Allegheny Health Network facilities.
It’s on display in the AVH cafeteria through March 4.
To passersby, the 5-foot-by-10-foot exhibit might seem like nothing more than a colorful display of uniforms worn by nurses, radiologists and aides.
But the scrubs, in navy blue, green, tan and red, represent countless hours of blood, sweat and tears, Chief Nursing Officer Milissa Hammers said.
The West Deer resident has been with AHN for 30 years.
She said the artwork is a visual representation of the emotional toll shouldered by medical staff.
“It’s so moving when you think about all the patients we have touched,” she said.
“From births, to cancer, to the ones who get to ring the bell. We treat patients as people, not room numbers or diagnoses.”
Designed by local artists Wicked Pittsburgh, the display was constructed from a Japanese woodworking technique called sashimono, which forgoes the use of nails. Accompanying the exhibit is a video featuring clinicians and staff members who address the question, “If your scrubs could talk, what would they say?”
Previously on display at Highmark’s Fifth Avenue Place, the artwork is an extension of AHN’s “We See You” campaign that highlights the ways caregivers serve and support patients.
The campaign showcases caregivers at the start of their shift and at the end of a long day, and through the joys and sorrows of caring for patients, AHN public relations specialist Emily Kostelnik said.
The 550-pound wooden stand will move March 5 to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.
Podobnik, who grew up in Freeport and now lives in Plum, said that participating in the event made her think back on four decades at patients’ bedsides.
“I was a brand-new nurse in 1984 when I started working at AVH. I was mentored by the best nurses, doctors and aides, many of whom are long gone,” she said. “I still think of them and all they taught me.”
She said it’s an honor to have been with people at their highest and lowest moments, keeping in mind that she is caring for a human being and their family, Podobnik said.
“How would I want my Mom, Dad or child to be treated?” she said.
“When situations were difficult, I always remembered that.”
Having been born at Allegheny Valley Hospital, and having her children at the same hospital, Podobnik said she feels like she “grew up there.”
“I volunteered as a teen there,” she said. “I feel like I am part of this building.
If my scrubs could talk, they would say, ‘Wow!’ ”
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.