Health
New Jersey medical students offer haircuts and grooming services to patients: ‘Sense of humanity’
Basic grooming can be a challenge during an extended hospital stay, taking a toll on the patient’s mood and mental health.
A group of medical students is on a mission to change that, through a program called Bergen Barbers, named for the street in Newark, New Jersey, where University Hospital is located.
Launched in 2021 by Vaishali Ravikumar, a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) student, the program provides haircutting, shaving and detangling services for hospitalized patients.
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Ravikumar came up with the idea as a third-year student while taking care of a trauma surgery patient.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical students — aka the Bergen Barbers — Ivan Loncar, Shivani Srivastava, Hetal Lad and Sowntharya Ayyappan are pictured outside University Hospital in Newark. ( Keith Bratcher/Rutgers New Jersey Medical School)
“A patient who had been hospitalized for many days became so frustrated that he was on the verge of checking himself out against medical advice,” she said in a press release.
“His long, matted hair and unbrushed beard were making him very uncomfortable. My attending [physician] suggested I do something about it.”
After gathering some supplies from around the hospital, Ravikumar gave the patient an impromptu haircut.
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“He requested a ‘faux hawk,’ and I did my best to deliver,” she said.
“We laughed and talked through the whole process, and I learned a lot about him. When I finished, he was in much better spirits and trusted his health care team more than before.”
Motivated to extend the services to more patients, Ravikumar recruited several NJMS student volunteers, and Bergen Barbers was born.
Self-taught skills
The students, who had no haircutting or shaving experience, picked up some basic skills by watching YouTube videos.
“We learned how to use a clipper and how to give a basic haircut,” Ravikumar said.
“Using waterless shampoo with a small spray bottle of water, we dampen the hair, shampoo it and towel it dry. For women, we do a straight cut. For men, we ask how short they want it.”
“I learned by watching some videos and doing some Googling.”
Ivan Loncar, one of the current student volunteers, said he joined with “no experience” other than shaving.
“I learned by watching some videos and doing some Googling,” he told Fox News Digital during an interview.
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“As I did more services, watched other people do it and provided more haircuts, I got more comfortable.”
This year, Bergen Barbers added about 60 new medical student volunteers and implemented a more formal training process.
Selecting the ‘clients’
Many of the patients Bergen Barbers serves have been in the hospital for an extended period.
“They may be going through the toughest time of their lives,” Hetal Lad, one of the volunteers, told Fox News Digital in the same interview. “Maybe they’re done with surgery, but now they have new complications or … have been given rough news.”
“In that moment, seeing somebody who’s outside their health care team is really nice, as they can vent about things they don’t feel they can say to their providers.”
Rutgers New Jersey Medical students Ivan Loncar, Hetal Lad, Sowntharya Ayyappan and Shivani Srivastava outside University Hospital in Newark. Launched in 2021, the program provides haircutting, shaving and detangling services for hospitalized patients. ( Keith Bratcher/Rutgers New Jersey Medical School)
In many cases, the students help patients who are post- or pre-surgery and need a trim or a shave, according to Sowntharya Ayyappan, one of the students in the group.
“We also have a lot of patients who experience homelessness and have not been given a lot of the opportunities to maintain hair care,” she told Fox News Digital during the same interview.
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The nursing staff also assists with choosing patients.
“We make sure patients are able to provide consent and do not have a traumatic brain injury or any medical device in the head or face that might be an obstacle,” Ravikumar noted.
Patients with severe blood clotting disorders and those on psychiatric floors are also ruled out, she added.
Rave reviews
So far, Bergen Barbers has received only positive feedback from patients.
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“We haven’t had a single bad experience,” Shivani Srivastava, a current volunteer, told Fox News Digital.
“They’re always very appreciative that we came by and gave them whatever service they wanted.”
In a way, Ayyappan said, the Bergen Barbers are giving a sense of “humanity” back to their patients.
“We’re providing a service that’s very routine and part of human nature — it’s something we all have to do innately as humans,” a student volunteer said. (iStock)
“We’re providing a service that’s very routine and part of human nature — it’s something we all have to do innately as humans.”
The sessions also provide an opportunity to have conversations with the patients about their hobbies and lives outside the hospital walls, she added.
“We’re seeing them not only as patients, but as people.”
“We’re seeing them not only as patients, but as people.”
Some patients might not get outside visitors, Loncar noted.
“For them, those precious 10, 30 or 40 minutes are an amazing experience to just unwind — even if it’s just complaining or reminiscing about something, or telling us about their lives or giving advice as an older individual.”
The sessions enable the students to gain experience with patient interactions, they said. (iStock)
In one scenario, a patient asked the volunteers for a Bible, Ayyappan shared, which they provided for him.
In another example, Srivastava said, the team went in to give a patient a shave and haircut, only to realize that he couldn’t speak English, so he couldn’t communicate with the volunteers.
“But he put on jazz music, closed his eyes and kind of turned the vibe of a hospital room into his own barbershop,” she said.
An educational experience
While the patients enjoy the results of the grooming services, the medical students are also reaping the rewards, they told Fox News Digital.
The services allow the students to get early exposure to working with patients, Ayyappan pointed out.
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“You’re learning empathy, you’re having hard conversations with patients,” said Ayyappan.
“You get comfortable with them, learn about them and hear about their problems in the hospital.”
“Those precious 10, 30 or 40 minutes are an amazing experience for them to just unwind,” a volunteer said. (iStock)
Faculty mentor Amy Gore, an assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers, shared her excitement about the program.
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“I was so excited when Vaishali approached me with this idea, and felt it could be a fantastic way to connect with patients and greatly contribute to their psychological well-being,” Gore said in a press release.
“It has been truly inspirational watching her bring Bergen Barbers to fruition and recruit an incredible team to keep the project alive as she transitions into residency.”
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A popular class of weight-loss drugs may prevent life-threatening cardiac complications by opening microscopic blood vessels that often remain blocked after a heart attack, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications.
The research, led by the University of Bristol and University College London, identified a biological brain-gut-heart signaling pathway.
This discovery appears to explain how GLP-1 drugs — which mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite — protect heart tissue from a condition known as “no-reflow.”
“In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny blood vessels within the heart muscle remain narrowed, even after the main artery is cleared during emergency medical treatment,” Dr. Svetlana Mastitskaya, the study’s lead author and a senior lecturer at Bristol Medical School, said in a press release.
“This results in a complication known as ‘no-reflow,’ where blood is unable to reach certain parts of the heart tissue.”
In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny capillaries (blood vessels) remain narrowed even after the main blocked artery is cleared. (iStock)
This lack of blood flow increases the risk of heart failure and death within a year. GLP-1 medications could prevent this, according to the researchers.
How it works
When the GLP-1 hormone is released in the gut or administered as a drug, it sends a signal to the brain, which then sends a signal to the heart that switches on special potassium channels in tiny cells called pericytes.
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When these channels open, the pericytes relax, which allows the small blood vessels (capillaries) to widen and improve blood flow to the heart muscle, the researchers noted.
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The new study used animal models and cellular imaging to track how GLP-1 interacts with heart tissue. When the researchers removed the potassium channels, the drugs no longer protected the heart — confirming they play a key role.
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments. (iStock)
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments during or immediately after a heart attack to reduce tissue damage.
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The researchers noted several limitations, including that the study relied on animal models.
Clinical trials are necessary to determine whether the brain-gut-heart pathway operates with the same timing and efficacy in humans.
While the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it des not establish whether long-term use of these drugs provides a pre-existing level of protection. (iStock)
Additionally, while the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it does not establish whether long-term use of the medication provides a pre-existing level of protection.
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The research was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation.
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Collagen supplements have exploded in popularity, touted as everything from an anti-aging miracle to a muscle recovery booster.
But a sweeping new review conducted by U.K. researchers suggests that while collagen may help improve skin elasticity and ease arthritis pain, it does little for athletic performance or wrinkle reduction.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University analyzed 16 systematic reviews and 113 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 8,000 participants worldwide, which they say is the most extensive evaluation of collagen’s health effects to date.
The review found consistent evidence that collagen supplementation improves skin elasticity and hydration over time and provides significant relief from osteoarthritis-related joint pain and stiffness, according to findings published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum.
A large U.K. review found that collagen supplements may improve skin elasticity and hydration over time. (iStock)
The researchers, however, did not find meaningful improvements in post-exercise muscle recovery, soreness or tendon mechanical properties (strength, springiness and stretch resistance).
“Collagen is not a cure-all, but it does have credible benefits when used consistently over time, particularly for skin and osteoarthritis,” co-author Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University, said in a statement.
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“Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy aging, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use,” Smith added.
Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, supports skin, bones, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue, according to experts. Natural collagen production begins to drop in early adulthood and declines more sharply with age.
The study found that collagen supplements may help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. (iStock)
The review found that long-term collagen supplementation was linked to improved skin firmness and hydration, but did not help skin roughness — a proxy for visible wrinkles.
Benefits appear to accumulate gradually, suggesting that collagen should not be viewed as an “anti-wrinkle ‘quick fix,’ but as a foundational dermal support for individuals seeking holistic skin maintenance,” the researchers said.
“If we define anti-aging as a product or technique designed to prevent the appearance of getting older, then I believe our findings do support this claim for some parameters,” Smith told the BBC. “For example, an improvement in skin tone and moisture is associated with a more youthful-looking appearance.”
Collagen supplementation was linked to reduced pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis, with stronger benefits seen over longer periods of use, and showed modest improvements in muscle mass and tendon structure that may support healthy aging.
Collagen did not significantly improve skin roughness, a marker of visible wrinkles. (iStock)
However, it did not show meaningful results when used as a fast-acting sports performance supplement, and evidence for benefits related to cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and oral health was mixed or inconclusive.
Dr. Daniel Ghiyam, a California-based physician and longevity specialist, said the findings align with what he sees in clinical practice.
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“Collagen is a targeted support tool, not a foundation of health or performance,” Ghiyam, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “When marketed that way, it makes sense. When marketed as a cure-all, it doesn’t hold up to the data.”
The authors noted that while many previous collagen studies have received financial support from the supplement industry, the current review did not receive industry funding.
Experts say collagen supplements may offer modest benefits for skin hydration and joint comfort, but they are not a cure-all. (iStock)
The team called for more high-quality clinical trials examining long-term outcomes, optimal dosages and differences between collagen sources, such as marine, bovine and plant-based alternatives.
Among its limitations, the review could not determine whether certain forms of collagen work better than others or what the optimal regimen should be.
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While the review included randomized controlled trials, the quality of the studies varied, with newer research generally showing stronger results.
Experts say more data and studies are needed to build on the findings. They also noted that diet plays a crucial role in skin health.
Collagen supplements, often sold as powders or pills, may improve skin elasticity and ease joint pain, experts say. (iStock)
Dr. Erum Ilyas, a Pennsylvania-based dermatologist and chair of dermatology at Drexel University College of Medicine, noted that the review analyzed previously published meta-analyses rather than generating new primary data.
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“At this time, I have not seen sufficiently strong independent evidence to routinely recommend collagen supplements to my patients,” Ilyas, who was not involved in the review, told Fox News Digital.
“Although some studies show modest improvements in markers such as hydration and elasticity, there remains limited independent, biopsy-confirmed evidence demonstrating sustained increases in dermal collagen content,” she added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.
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