As part of a pressure ulcer prevention program, the WOCN team began validating all reported hospital acquired pressure ulcers in this 900 bed teaching hospital. As units report on patients with HAPU's the information entered into a data base. The WOCN who is the liasion for that unit will assess the patient and reviews the medical record on a weekly basis. We have found several instances where skin breakdown due to reasons other than pressure may be reported incorrectly as a pressure ulcer. In addition to verifying wound etiology; the WOC nurse will also confirm the staging of the hospital acquired pressure ulcer. As of November 2012; there is 6 months of data. This poster will present data on the number of wounds that were incorrectly categorized as hospital acquired pressure ulcers; as well as the accuracy of staging when confirmed by a CWOCN. It is hoped that the identified trends will enable education that focuses on the most common errors in reporting and staging.
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1530 Is it Really Pressure?
Establishing true incidence of hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU's) is an essential first step in determining education needs, and assessment of the impact of prevention protocols.