An American Inventor with Global Reach: The Professional Path of Lisa Faye Crites

Turning Observation Into Action

Lisa Faye Crites has long taken on challenges with curiosity and resolve. Her career has included journalism, innovation and advocacy — all connected by a shared purpose of bettering patient experiences. Today, SHE is the founder and innovator of The SHOWER SHIRT™, a water-resistant patented shirt serving to protect surgical drains during healing. Her career illustrates how lived experience and professional expertise combine to produce real-world solutions with a global impact.

A Career Grounded in Journalism

Crites started her career covering health and medical issues, earning a reputation for clear and reliable writing. She was a reporter and anchor at outlets that included Central Florida News 13 in Orlando, America’s Health Network, PBS, WKMG Local 6, CNTV, NADA TV and the Travel Channel. In every role, she distilled complicated information into clear stories that were accessible to viewers. Her work called for attention and empathy as well as communication skills, attributes that would inform her approach to tackling problems and innovating.

She also worked as a media coach for Gannett. In that role, she helped professionals polish their presentation skills and present ideas with confidence. It was her knack for noticing unmet needs and drilling down to practical solutions, skills that would become key when she faced a personal health care challenge.

A Personal Challenge Inspires Innovation

Crites had a double mastectomy in 2009. During her recovery, she had difficulty managing surgical drains during showers. She discovered that solutions available in the market either weren’t comfortable or practical, or were simply unavailable. It was this realization that fueled her desire to create a solution for this issue that would ultimately make the recovery process better for other people and herself, too. Applying her analytical skills and journalism training, she started to design a garment that would protect drains but let patients remain independent.

The SHOWER SHIRT™: Practical Design with Purpose

The outcome of her efforts is The SHOWER SHIRT™, a patented product designed for post-surgical use. The device and method of use were patented U.S. Patent No. 8,516,613 to Crites. The SHOWER SHIRT™ is classified as a Class I medical device by the Food and Drug Administration, which denotes low-risk with some practical utility. The one-piece garment combines comfort, water resistance and ease of sliding on and off for a solution as simple as they come — but still effective — for patients around the world. Now, it’s available via medical supply outlets and retail platforms, empowering people to heal with dignity and independence.

Applying Professional Discipline to Innovation

Crites took the same rigorous approach to invention that she brought to journalism. She consulted with medical professionals, watched what patients went through and adapted the garment from real-world tests. That consumer instinct around function and empathy over novelty showed up in a product to fill a real void when it comes to recovery care. The clean and thoughtful design of The SHOWER SHIRT™ reflects her talent for professional translation from observation into purpose.

Recognition and Global Impact

Crites’s innovation quickly earned recognition. In 2015, she won the national InnovateHER Challenge sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Washington Post and Microsoft honoring products that empower women and elevate lives. In 2015, she was awarded the University of Portugal’s Patient Innovation Award. The SHOWER SHIRT™ was included in the innovation exhibit at the London Science Museum which traveled throughout several of European nations and Crites was invited to present her work in Dubai’s World Government Summit. She also won a Silver Award at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival and an ARCA award from the Croatian Union of Innovators. In 2024, she received a nomination for induction into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, honoring her achievements in patient-centered healthcare innovation.

Advocacy Beyond Product Development

Crites has also influenced health care policy. She was instrumental in making a bi partisan legislative filing happen of the Post Mastectomy Infection Reduction Act with Congressman Bill Posey and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And indeed this legislation was closing gaps in post-surgical care and serving as an example of how she was able to take personal experience and turn it into patient-impacting reform nationwide.

Education and Knowledge Sharing

Crites received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Murray State University in Kentucky and went on to complete an MBA along with a Master’s degree in the field of Digital Marketing and E-commerce from the European Business School, which included studies in Barcelona. She regularly lectures at colleges and universities on a wide range of topics including patient innovation, social entrepreneurship, and the mechanics of scaling lived experience into actionable solutions. Her work has also been recognized in academic literature, notably as a case study example of patient-driven invention in the book Patient Innovation.

Commitment to Community

Aside from her professional accomplishments, Crites has served the community. She is on boards for the Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse, Digital Arts for Autism, National Breast Friends Advisory Member, Driven By Heart, Space Coast Early Steps and weVENTURE Women’s Business Center Advisory Board at Florida Institute of Technology. Charlene had also volunteered with the Central Florida Second Harvest Food Bank and the Central Florida Homeless Coalition, thus demonstrating her longstanding commitment to serving others.

A Legacy of Practical Innovation

Lisa Faye Crites’s career illustrates how professional expertise, personal insight and empathy can intersect to enable meaningful change. From journalism to invention, advocacy and world renown she has remained laser-focused on improving recovery care via thoughtful design. The SHOWER SHIRT™ and her continual work proves that the biggest innovations stem from closely watching people, identifying human need, and jumping into action to improve lives for others.