Advancing Skill Set for Wound Care in the Long-Term Care Setting

Life Care Centers of America, Inc., is a long-term care community of over 260 skilled nursing facilities in over in 28 states from Boston, MA to Hilo, HI.  LCCA is invested in providing the nursing staff with additional wound care training and credentialing and have recently adopted the WTA program to be the platform for wound care training.   The Wound Treatment Associate (WTA) program is recognized by the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society® (WOCN) Society to provide additional wound training and skills to staff that focus on direct care.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, approximately 2.5 million patients will acquire a pressure ulcer during their hospital stay each year. Patients who suffer from fractures frequently and are transferred to the long-term care setting for rehabilitation are the ones who are at highest risk for pressure ulcers.

Pressure ulcers can be a challenge to treat and manage in the long-term care setting. Many skilled nursing facilities do not have a wound care specialist, or even a staff member (associate) trained in wounds. The lack of certified wound care professionals in these particular facilities can lead to an increase in the following:  complications from pressure ulcers, hospitalizations, prevalence of amputations, and risk of death.

Life Care Centers of America is dedicated to providing the most advanced care to the residents and is specializing in the field of wound care to better meet the needs of the patients for both long-term and short-stay.