​Objectives:

• List common issues that can lead to chronic venous insufficiency and wounds.
• Identify assessment considerations for venous leg ulcers.
• Verbalize treatment interventions that meet, or do not meet, best practice.

What Is Pressure Injury
A pressure injury is localized damage to the skin and underlying soft tissue usually over a bony prominence or related to a medical or other device. The injury can present as intact skin or an open ulcer and may be painful. The injury occurs as a result of intense and/or prolonged pressure or pressure in combination with shear. The tolerance of soft tissue for pressure and shear may also be affected by microclimate, nutrition, perfusion, co-morbidities and condition of the soft tissue. The full list of NPIAP pressure injury definition stages can be found here.

What We Know
Promoting a “prevention mindset” for you staff is key in preventing pressure injuries and reducing the financial burden caused by pressure injuries.  The goal is to keep the Resident moving as much as possible increasing blood flow, while reducing shearing and friction forces. Consistent, good skin care is just as important.  Keeping the skin clean, dry, and moisturized, while managing the microclimate will promote quality skin care management. The pressure injury prevention list can be found here.

Remove the Cause
Pressure Injuries can develop at any age, but more commonly it is the senior population that uses wheelchairs, is bedbound and wears medical devices and who, are therefore at highest risk. If a pressure injury does develop, you first want to identify the cause while using a holistic approach. You will want to investigate the cause from every angle. Until the cause of the pressure injury is removed, the pressure injury will not heal. Encourage your nursing staff to focus more on a prevention mindset while encompassing ongoing education.

Debridement is a fundamental component of wound management and a standard of practice. Preparing the wound bed for healing must be done adequately to facilitate the best outcomes and provide opportunities for closure and subsequent healing.
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This program will discuss the: Who, When and How components of chronic wound debridement — specifically for the population residing in the long-term care setting. Content will include assessment prior to debridement (e.g., vascular studies to the lower extremity), types of debridement and precautions/contraindications of debridement. Attend this session to better recognize which wounds will benefit from debridement and how to best accomplish this in the long-term care setting.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this program participants will be able to:

• Discuss debridement as a component of the Wound Bed Preparation paradigm;
• Recognize when and what to debride from the wound;
• Identify precautions and contraindications for debridement;
• Verbalize the different types of debridement.

AMT Education Division is a provider of Continuing Nursing Education by the California Board of Nursing, Provider Number CEP 15291. This program is approved for 1 nursing contact hour by the California Board of Nursing.

​Pressure ulcer/injury (PU/PI) prevention is considered a quality measure in most care settings—including long-term nursing facilities. To comply with federal regulations, a facility must demonstrate, through the resident assessment processes, care plan documentation and clinical outcomes, that the only facility acquired PU/PIs are unavoidable. Providing this level of care (prevention of all PU/PIs, except those produced by the resident’s failing physiology) requires that the facility have processes and protocols in-place to move the entire staff towards the goal of PU/PI prevention.
 
The faculty of this webinar will use a Self-Assessment Worksheet to help facilities identify current processes, gaps and places for improvement. Whether a facility has a root cause analysis program firmly in-place, are just beginning, or are working toward their PU/PI Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement process, this program has content to help inform and support the goal of PU/PI prevention.

At the end of this presentation participants will be able to:

• Identify which tools and processes are currently in place to identify residents who have PU/PI risk, or experience a change in PU/PI risks;
• Discuss current PU/PI prevention practices in their building/company; 
• Recognize gaps in current PU/PI prevention practices/processes;
• Formulate plans to improve pressure ulcer/injury prevention practices/processes and improve clinical interventions and outcomes

Dear Partners in Care,

We have seen a tremendous interest in our Quarterly webinars as well as the presentations for some of our corporate clients related to Infection Management and Antibiotic Stewardship. This link and these handouts were mentioned and referenced in one of our last presentations and we wanted to take this opportunity to share them with all of you.