Clinician Resources: On the Road Again, Nutrition, Compression

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

A variety of resources to end the year and take you into 2014.

On the road again

Give your patients with an ostomy this information from the Transportation Security Administration to help them navigate airport screening:

• You can be screened without having to empty or expose your ostomy, but you need to let the officer conducting the screening know about the ostomy before the screening starts.
• You can be screened using imaging technology, a metal detector, or a thorough patdown.
• Your ostomy is subject to additional screening. In most cases, this means you will pat down your ostomy and then your hands will undergo explosive trace detection. (more…)

Making sure patients have the ostomy supplies they need

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Connie Johnson, BSN, RN, WCC, LLE, OMS, DAPWCA

No matter where you work or who your distributors are, ensuring the patient has sufficient ostomy supplies can be a challenge. Whether you’re the nurse, the physician, the patient, or the family, not having supplies for treatments can heighten frustration with an already challenging situation, such as a new ostomy. Here’s how to reduce the chance of experiencing frustrations related to ostomy supplies. (more…)

Making professional connections

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Kathleen D. Pagana, PhD, RN

Are you making connections that benefit your career? Are you comfortable starting a conversation at a networking session? Do you know how to exit a conversation gracefully when it’s time to move on?

These are questions and concerns many clinicians share. Career success takes more than clinical expertise, management savvy, and leadership skills. Networking can be the critical link to success. This article helps you improve your networking skills by focusing on what to do before, during, and after a networking opportunity. (more…)

The long and short of it: Understanding compression bandaging

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Robyn Bjork, MPT, WCC, CWS, CLT-LANA

Margery Smith, age 82, arrives at your wound clinic for treatment of a shallow, painful ulcer on the lateral aspect of her right lower leg. On examination, you notice weeping and redness of both lower legs, 3+ pitting edema, several blisters, and considerable denudement of the periwound skin. She is wearing tennis shoes and her feet have relatively little edema, but her ankles are bulging over the edges of her shoes; both socks are wet. Stemmer’s sign is negative. The wound on the right leg is draining copious amounts of clear fluid; it’s dressed with an alginate, which is secured with conforming roll gauze. No signs or symptoms of infection are present. (more…)

Clinical Notes: Pressure-Ulcer Data, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, IFG & HbA1c

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Hospital pressure-ulcer comparison data not accurate

Performance scores for rates of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers might not be appropriate for comparing hospitals, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Hospital report cards for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: How good are the grades?,” funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, analyzed 2 million all-payer administrative records from 448 California hospitals and quarterly hospital surveillance data from 213 hospitals from the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes. (more…)

Protecting yourself from a job layoff

November 21, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

by Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS

With uncertainty over how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ultimately will affect operations, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are tightening up. In many areas, they’re laying off staff. In May, the healthcare industry lost 9,000 jobs—the worst month for the industry in a decade—and another 4,000 jobs were lost in July.

Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies are reducing reimbursements to care providers, meaning less money is coming in and healthcare facilities have less money to pay out. In my experience, when job cuts are needed, the specialty and subspecialty positions go first. Wound and ostomy care is a subspecialty, so we need to be prepared to protect our jobs—not only for ourselves but for our patients. (more…)

Wound Care Advisor Journal 2013 Vol2 No6

How do you prove a wound was unavoidable?

A pressure ulcer that a patient acquires in your facility or a patient’s existing pressure ulcer that worsens puts your organization at risk for regulatory citations as well as litigation. Unless you can prove the pressure ulcer was unavoidable, you could find yourself burdened with citations or fines, or could even end up in court.

In 2010, the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) hosted a multidisciplinary conference to establish a consensus on whether all pressure ulcers are avoidable.

Clinical Notes: Pressure-Ulcer Data, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, IFG & HbA1c

Posted: November 21, 2013

Hospital pressure-ulcer comparison data not accurate Performance scores for rates of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers might not be appropriate for comparing hospitals, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. “Hospital report cards for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: How good are the grades?,” funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, analyzed 2 million all-payer administrative records from 448…

Clinician Resources: On the Road Again, Nutrition, Compression

Posted: November 21, 2013

A variety of resources to end the year and take you into 2014. On the road again Give your patients with an ostomy this information from the Transportation Security Administration to help them navigate airport screening: • You can be screened without having to empty or expose your ostomy, but you need to let the officer conducting the screening know…

How dietary protein intake promotes wound healing

Posted: November 19, 2013

By Nancy Collins, PhD, RD, LD/N, FAPWCA, and Allison Schnitzer Nutrition is a critical factor in the wound healing process, with adequate protein intake essential to the successful healing of a wound. Patients with both chronic and acute wounds, such as postsurgical wounds or pressure ulcers, require an increased amount of protein to ensure complete and timely healing of their…

How do you prove a wound was unavoidable?

Posted: November 21, 2013

By Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN A pressure ulcer that a patient acquires in your facility or a patient’s existing pressure ulcer that worsens puts your organization at risk for regulatory citations as well as litigation. Unless you can prove the pressure ulcer was unavoidable, you could find yourself burdened with citations or fines, or could even end…

Making professional connections

Posted: November 21, 2013

By Kathleen D. Pagana, PhD, RN Are you making connections that benefit your career? Are you comfortable starting a conversation at a networking session? Do you know how to exit a conversation gracefully when it’s time to move on? These are questions and concerns many clinicians share. Career success takes more than clinical expertise, management savvy, and leadership skills. Networking…

Making sure patients have the ostomy supplies they need

Posted: November 21, 2013

By Connie Johnson, BSN, RN, WCC, LLE, OMS, DAPWCA No matter where you work or who your distributors are, ensuring the patient has sufficient ostomy supplies can be a challenge. Whether you’re the nurse, the physician, the patient, or the family, not having supplies for treatments can heighten frustration with an already challenging situation, such as a new ostomy. Here’s…

Protecting yourself from a job layoff

Posted: November 21, 2013

by Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS With uncertainty over how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ultimately will affect operations, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are tightening up. In many areas, they’re laying off staff. In May, the healthcare industry lost 9,000 jobs—the worst month for the industry in a decade—and another 4,000 jobs were lost in July.…

Skin problems with chronic venous insufficiency and phlebolymphedema

Posted: November 21, 2013

Dermatologic difficulties: Skin problems in patients with chronic venous insufficiency and phlebolymphedema By Nancy Chatham, RN, MSN, ANP-BC, CWOCN, CWS; Lori Thomas, MS, OTR/L, CLT-LANA; and Michael Molyneaux, MD Skin problems associated with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and phlebolymphedema are common and often difficult to treat. The CVI cycle of skin and soft tissue injury from chronic disease processes can…

The long and short of it: Understanding compression bandaging

Posted: November 21, 2013

By Robyn Bjork, MPT, WCC, CWS, CLT-LANA Margery Smith, age 82, arrives at your wound clinic for treatment of a shallow, painful ulcer on the lateral aspect of her right lower leg. On examination, you notice weeping and redness of both lower legs, 3+ pitting edema, several blisters, and considerable denudement of the periwound skin. She is wearing tennis shoes…

What you need to know about hydrogel dressings

Posted: November 21, 2013

By Nancy Morgan, RN, BSN, MBA, WOC, WCC, DWC, OMS Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice. Description Hydrated polymer (hydrogel) dressings, originally developed in the 1950s, contain 90% water in a gel base, which helps regulate fluid exchange from the wound surface. Hydrogel dressing are usually clear or translucent and vary…

2013 Journal: November – December Vol. 2 No. 6

Click here to access the digital edition

Developing a cost-effective pressure-ulcer prevention program in an acute-care setting

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Tamera L. Brown, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, CWON, and Jessica Kitterman, BSN, RN, CWOCN

Pressure ulcers take a hefty toll in both human and economic terms. They can lengthen patient stays, cause pain and suffering, and increase care costs. The average estimated cost of treating a pressure ulcer is $50,000; this amount may include specialty beds, wound care supplies, nutritional support, and increased staff time to care for wounds. What’s more, national patient safety organizations and insurance payers have deemed pressure ulcers avoidable medical errors and no longer reimburse the cost of caring for pressure ulcers that develop during hospitalization. (more…)

Compassionate care: The crucial difference for ostomy patients

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Gail Hebert, RN, MS, CWCN, WCC, DWC, LNHA, OMS; and Rosalyn Jordan, BSN, RN, MSc, CWOCN, WCC, OMS

Imagine your physician has just told you that your rectal pain and bleeding are caused by invasive colon cancer and you need prompt surgery. She then informs you that surgery will reroute your feces to an opening on your abdominal wall. You will be taught how to manage your new stoma by using specially made ostomy pouches, but will be able to lead a normal life.

Like most people, you’d probably be in shock after hearing this. More than 700,000 people in the United States are living with ostomies. Every year, at least 100,000 ostomy surgeries are done, preceded by a conversation much like the one above. So how do patients recover from the shock of learning about their pending surgery—and then return to a full life? (more…)

Preventing pressure ulcers starts on admission

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN

The first 24 hours after a patient’s admission are critical in preventing pressure ulcer development or preventing an existing ulcer from worsening. A skin inspection, risk assessment, and temporary care plan should all be implemented during this time frame. Essentially, it’s the burden of the care setting to prove to insurers, regulators, and attorneys the pressure ulcer was present on admission and interventions were put into place to avoid worsening of the condition. Of course, patients also benefit from having their condition identified and treated promptly. (more…)

Clinician Resources: Guideline Clearinghouse, Patient Safety, Diabetic Foot-Ulcers

September 25, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Here are some resources of value to your practice.

National Guideline Clearinghouse

The National Guideline Clearinghouse, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, summarizes many guidelines of interest to wound care, ostomy, and lymphedema clinicians. Here are some examples:

You can search for guidelines and compare more than one guideline.

Patient Safety Primers

(more…)

Taking care of the caregiver—you

September 23, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By: Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS

Why is it that the people who are the most caring toward others neglect their own needs? Have you noticed this?

I’ve seen it time and time again. The healthcare worker who’s always the last to leave work, who always volunteers to work those extra shifts so patient care won’t be compromised, who never says “No” when it comes to something a friend needs. These same compassionate and devoted clinicians seem to always worry about others and not themselves. (more…)

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