PRESSURE INJURY PREVALENCE
Saint Anne’s Hospital is committed to providing the highest quality care with compassion and respect through shared governance, interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice, and professional development.
Our efforts to prevent pressure injuries include the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team in the assessment, early identification, and implementation of individualized, evidence -based, interventions for patients at risk for pressure injury development or delayed wound healing. This team includes Registered Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, Registered Dieticians, Patient Care Transporters, Physical Therapists, Providers, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Leadership, and Certified Wound Care Nurse. For patients with complex or chronic wounds, a referral is made to the Center for Wound Healing at Saint Anne’s Hospital to ensure continuity of care after discharge.
Saint Anne’s Hospital’s Skin Team is coordinated by the Certified Wound Care Nurse and includes Registered Nurses and Surgical Physician’s Assistants from the inpatient nursing units. The team meets monthly and conducts quarterly pressure injury prevalence surveys to ensure we are consistently meeting our quality and patient care standards. As of November 2022, 73% of the Saint Anne’s Hospital Skin Team is voluntarily enrolled in or completed the Wound Treatment Associate (WTA) Program and one member is WTA-Certified by the Wound Ostomy Continence Certification Board (WOCNCB®). The WTA program is an evidence-based educational program, endorsed by the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse (WOCN®) Society, that enhances the nurses’ ability to provide optimal care for our patients.
FALLS AND FALLS WITH INJURY
At Saint Anne’s Hospital, our staff is committed to safe care for all our patients. With a fall prevention plan already in place, we continue to explore ways to improve the safety of our patients, as their safety is foremost on our minds.
A fall risk assessment is done on admission for all patients and continues throughout their hospital stay. When patients are identified at risk to fall a multidisciplinary team effort is made to prevent a fall from occurring. Frequent, purposeful interactions are conducted by our care team members with the patient. During these rounds patients are offered the opportunity to walk/walk to the bathroom with assistance or be assisted to a bedside commode. They are also assessed for the need to be repositioned, for the presence or absence of pain, for the placement of personal items within close reach, and for the placement of equipment to avoid trip hazard. During shift report at the patient bedside, risk for fall is discussed with the patient, and the plan for safety confirmed. Environmental assessments are performed to improve the safety of the environment. Bed and/or chair alarms are included in the plan of care for patients identified as a fall risk. These alarms help alert the care team the patient is trying to get out of bed/chair or has gotten out of bed/chair unassisted, initiating a face-to face response. In the event of a patient fall, the care team discuss the incident in the moment, identifying factors that may have contributed to the fall and implementing strategies to prevent a repeat fall. The organization continues to monitor falls as they happen and identify opportunities to improve the safety and experience of the hospital stay for all patients.
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| 14 November 2022 |
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