The SCI Team has arrived!!!

Statement of Problem:

When the number of hospital acquired pressure ulcers start to creep up the charts and you are no longer meeting national benchmarks then something has to be done! The WOC nurses at a major academic medical center organized a group of unit based clinicians to actively participate in the quarterly pressure ulcer prevalence day and to look at initiatives to decrease the pressure ulcer prevalence rate.  The group call themselves “CSI”-collaborative skin investigators.Objective: To decrease the organizational/unit PU prevalence by 25% through the creation of a network of unit-based skin champions [Collaborative Skin Investigators (CSI)].
Methods: The members of the CSI team were recruited from the unit clinical leadership group. They were required to complete the NDNQI modules on pressure ulcers. Initially the CSI team shadowed the WOC team with the expectation that they would be responsible for coordinating future prevalence days with a WOC resource. After each pressure ulcer prevalence, debriefings of the CSI team were held. Suggestions were made with the goal to resolve any issues before the next prevalence was conducted. For example, it was decided that more manpower was needed so nursing students were recruited to participate in the pressure ulcer prevalence. 
Results: Over time the SCI members have become more involved with the pressure ulcer prevalence and making sure the prevention activities are carried out. Ideas about how to increase prevention and decrease pressure ulcer prevalence have been generated.

Conclusion: This is an evolving process and over time we will learn if we have met our goal of decreasing the prevalence by 25% and what other steps need to be taken to decrease it even more.