Hospitals to work at preventing pressure ulcers

News Release
Riverside HCF

A pressure ulcer is an area of skin that breaks down when you stay in one position for too long without shifting your weight. This often happens if you use a wheelchair or you are bedridden, even for a short period of time (for example, after surgery or an injury). The constant pressure against the skin reduces the blood supply to that area, and the affected tissue dies.
One in four patients in an acute care setting have a pressure ulcer (Woodbury and Houghton, 2004). This statistic translates into untold patient suffering, caregiver anguish, extra work for health-care providers, and millions spent in health-care dollars on a mostly preventable condition.
Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. has made a commitment to prevent pressure ulcers across all of its four sites, Laverendrye, Emo, Rainy River and Rainycrest. We have enrolled in the Canadian Association of Wound Cares Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program. This is a holistic program that includes increased pressure ulcer awareness, staff education, pressure ulcer risk assessment, individualized care plans, and patient education. We are in the early stages of implementation. As a part of putting this into practice our staff RN’s, RPN’s, and Personal Support
Workers have undergone a series of educational programs. Many of the staff have done this on their own time as a part of their commitment to pressure ulcer prevention.
The members of the wound care team and the administration of Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. would like to thank and commend our staff for their dedication and perseverance to get the education sessions done and continue on with this valuable program’s implementation. We are
aiming to have all of our staff finished the education sessions by December 31st, 2010 and will continue with program implementation in the New Year.