Implementation of a Unique Partnership that Streamlined the Process Improvement Plan for our Pressure Injury Prevention Program

Introduction: Conflicting priorities can limit the time to investigate what areas to target for education and training when substandard scores are obtained from routine pressure injury prevalence surveys or unit based HAPI (Hospital Acquired Pressure Injury) incidence rates. A program was implemented in our higher risk units, ICU and CVTU (Stroke Unit), to expedite a process improvement plan without significant strain on our limited resources. Methods: After obtaining administration approval, a 3-step partnership program with an industry-based clinical team was implemented which consisted of: 1) Gaining an understanding of the current pressure injury prevention program, 2) Performing an onsite assessment to validate the current practice and 3) Reporting the assessment results followed with a strategic planning session to provide actionable items to improve the program. Results: There were several action items that were identified: 1. Update policy. 2. Braden Scale, turning frequency and intervention education. 3. Inclusion of the PCP (Patient Care Partner) with all education. 4. Single page pressure injury prevention interventions algorithm/laminated and posted in patient rooms. 5. Check unit par levels and process stores for prevention intervention products. Conclusion: Partnering with an industry-based clinical team was of significant benefit to our hospital system and provided information that was needed to identify various weaknesses that existed in our current pressure injury prevention program. This information helped to develop an action plan to make improvements in a timely and efficient manner with minimal internal resource utilization. Recommendations: A follow-up study is recommended to verify that the action plan that was developed led to an overall improvement in our pressure injury prevention program.