N.J. Nursing Homes Have New Weapon to Fight Pressure Ulcers

PRINCETON, N.J., June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Jersey's 360 licensed nursing homes are being equipped with a new resource to help them identify, document and ultimately help prevent pressure ulcers in their elderly and frail residents.

Each facility will receive 10 free copies of the Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers, courtesy of the state Department of Health and Senior Services. DHSS is dedicating federal funds allocated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through civil monetary penalties to provide the resource.

Co-authored by Elizabeth Ayello, PhD, RN, and Jeffrey Levine, MD, the Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers is a bedside reference tool that helps nurses, physicians and other clinicians properly identify and document pressure ulcers, commonly called bed sores. Pressure ulcers can pose serious healthcare risks to the frail and elderly. Healthcare organizations and policymakers nationwide are dedicating energy and resources to preventing their occurrence.

The Pocket Guide is published by NJHA Healthcare Business Solutions, an affiliate of the New Jersey Hospital Association. NJHA's Institute for Quality and Patient Safety has targeted pressure ulcer reduction and prevention as a centerpiece of its own quality improvement efforts. Its two-year pressure ulcer collaborative achieved a 70 percent reduction in incidence rates and has been presented internationally before the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and in journals and conferences across the United States and Canada.

"It's gratifying to partner with our colleagues at DHSS to share a resource that will help even more patients." said Aline Holmes, RN, senior vice president of clinical affairs for NJHA and director of the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patient Safety. "When it comes to quality improvement, we're all in it together."

The Pocket Guide is a durable, spiral-bound reference resource with descriptions, color photographs, illustrations and charts to help bedside staff accurately identify and document pressure ulcers. It also provides information on documentation requirements from CMS such as the "present on admission" indicator in acute care, MDS in long term care and OASIS-C in home health. Co-author Ayello, PhD, RN, FAPWA, FAAN, is past president of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and a nationally recognized speaker, author and editor. Dr. Levine, MD, AGSF, CMD, is a geriatrician on staff at the St. Vincent Hospital Wound Care Center in Manhattan and a longtime presenter, author and blogger on wound care.

Quantity discounts are available for healthcare organizations that want to equip their team with this practical reference guide. For more information and convenient online ordering, visit www.nopressureulcers.com, or contact NJHA's Theresa Edelstein at [email protected].

SOURCE New Jersey Hospital Association