ZELIENOPLE — Ruth Dripps sat patiently in a living room at Passavant Retirement Community, waiting to take her turn in front of the photo backdrop.

Like other residents there, Dripps typically uses the room to socialize or watch TV. But on Feb. 22 the room also was used for Picture Day, a new program at the complex, which accommodates a range of needs from independent living to skilled care.

With help from local volunteers, the program is replacing identification photos currently on file in the skilled nursing areas, often referred to as nursing neighborhoods.

According to clinical systems educator Dawn Hoogerbrugge, most of the current photos were taken upon admission, with residents often in hospital gowns.

"In the past, we would just take a Polaroid snapshot. But sometimes they were quite ill, and the pictures weren't that flattering," Hoogerbrugge said.

"If it was me, I wouldn't want an unflattering picture being on the clinical record for everyone to see," she said.

Hoogerbrugge proposed Picture Day about a year and a half ago as part of an ongoing agency mission to improve the residents' quality of life. After seeing a happy reaction when residents dressed up for annual prom events, Hoogerbrugge decided primping for the portraits might yield a similar response.

Since that time, the retirement community has been gathering volunteers through in-house communication, newspaper notices and word-of-mouth. So far, about 10 people have responded, said Donna Cawthorne, community outreach coordinator.

Although upgrading photos is a big part of the emerging program, Hoogerbrugge hopes also to document residents' personal histories in writing and eventually on video or PowerPoint, which then will be broadcast on the in-house television network.

The program also allows family members to get current photos of loved ones who are unable to travel to a professional studio.

During the Feb. 22 session, 98-year-old Sarah Clark was joined by her daughter and son-in-law, Wilma and Ronald Bornais of Cranberry Township. Clark's granddaughter Sherri Smith, also of Cranberry, was on hand to touch up the professional hair style done the previous Thursday.

Clark was among the first to be photographed that day, during the program's second session.

The first Picture Day was held Feb. 8, when Carl and Wanda Benjamin of Cranberry Township coordinated and took the photos with help from their 15-year-old daughter, Brittany. Wanda Benjamin said that session included only a few Passavant residents, allowing her family to begin developing a system for setting up, then taking and downloading the images.

The Feb. 22 session included a few more, with Passavant staff coordinating the photos around the residents' appointments with the hair stylist.

For touchups, Brittany came equipped with skills, since she works in a hair salon between studies at Seneca Valley High School. And Wanda was on hand with fashion accessories and hypoallergenic lipstick, applied with a Q-tip when needed.

"She's so nice, can I take her home?" asked Dorothy Baird, who was photographed with fellow resident Rita Fischetti. Since the women are known at Passavant for their humorous banter as a pair, the combined portrait was added to that day's schedule.

"Okay ladies: Be good or do the best you can," Wanda advised afterward.

A professional nurse at UPMC Passavant in Pittsburgh, Wanda's caregiving and people skills were useful as she helped position residents in front of her husband — an information technology manager at Alcoa — and her daughter, whom she calls a "techie teen."

The family said the project allows them to volunteer as a group while using and improving skills.

Although the Benjamin family is developing a rapport with residents on the third floor, plans include assigning additional groups or individuals to Passavant's other nursing neighborhoods.

With the current photo backdrop fashioned from a bed sheet, Cawthorne hopes to recruit volunteers who can create a variety of others.

While an interest in photography or art is welcome, Cawthorne hopes to find people who will coordinate ongoing Picture Days.

For more information, call Cawthorne at 724-453-5414.