The WOCN Society 40th Annual Conference (June 21-25th, 2008)
2374
A Prevalence Study, Finding More Than the Number of Pressure Ulcer Prevalence
Deanna M. Vargo, BSN, RN, CWS, FACCWS, DAPWCA, CWON, Summa Health System Barberton Hospital, Certified Wound Specialist, 155 Fifth St NE, Barberton, OH 44203
Prevalence and Incidence studies are becoming familiar practice for acute and long term care facilities. Knowing more than what our final audit number is can help to increase the quality of care provided; this may be increasingly important as we look toward the Present on Admission (POA) indicator relating to pressure ulcers (admission documentation criteria being discussed by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) expected to affect reimbursement. If we have knowledge about our level of compliance in areas of documentation, risk scale completion, protocols in place and frequency of consults to the Certified Wound Care Specialist, we can directly affect our outcomes - as well as reimbursement- in the end. This will show how our facility gathered additional information while completing the prevalence study and then used that information to direct actions to areas requiring attention. The results confirmed that when education is provided to nurse aides the overall facility acquired ‘all wound types’ decreased and when additional education is provided to RN/ LPN’s that unit’s assessment documentation increased and facility acquired pressure ulcer prevalence rates vanished.
See more of Practice Innovation Poster Session
See more of Practice Innovation Abstract
See more of The WOCN Society 40th Annual Conference (June 21-25th, 2008)
See more of Practice Innovation Abstract
See more of The WOCN Society 40th Annual Conference (June 21-25th, 2008)