Recognizing the Incurable in Ancient Egypt
The art of medicine is as old as human civilization, and what we think is new has often been done before. When researching the history of wound care I came across an interesting historical antecedent to today’s palliative care practices. I found it in the library of...
New Evidence for Pressure Ulcer Unavoidability
Over 150 years ago Jean Martin Charcot recognized that pressure ulceration can be an unavoidable component the dying process, kicking off a controversy over preventability that continues today. Contemporary medical science presents a growing body of knowledge...
Infections Related to Pressure Ulcers are Always Serious
Infections related to pressure ulcers are always serious events because most patients with these wounds are already compromised, and open wounds provide a portal for pathogenic bacteria to enter the body. Reasons for compromise include immobility, neurologic...
The Geriatric Workforce and Quality of Care
What could be less intuitive than a shrinking medical specialty in the face of surging demand? A recent New York Times article discussed the growing shortage of geriatricians in America. Despite the fact that there are more older Americans than any time in history,...
Body Casts in WWII: A Historical Perspective on Medical Device Related Pressure Ulcers
Surgeons and medics apply a plaster-of-paris body cast on an injured soldier. Photo courtesy of the New York Public Library. During WWII, the incidence of pressure ulcers in young injured soldiers increased as a result of plaster body casts and immobilization...
Historical Roots of the “Avoidable-Unavoidable” Pressure Ulcer Controversy
This post gives another preview of what I will be covering in my upcoming webinar entitled History of Pressure Ulcers & Wound Care: Past, Present, & Future, sponsored by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. Some years ago while browsing in an...
Wound Odor: Ancient Greece and The Story of Philoctetes
This post gives a preview of what I will be covering in my upcoming webinar entitled History of Pressure Ulcers & Wound Care: Past, Present, & Future, sponsored by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. The fascinating history of wound care dates...
Upcoming Webinar on History of Pressure Ulcers & Wound Care
I am thrilled to announce that registration is now open for my webinar entitled History of Pressure Ulcers and Wound Care: Past, Present and Future, sponsored by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP). This event takes place on November 19th at 1:00 PM...
World Wide Pressure Ulcer Prevention Day
This is a press release from NPUAP dated September 18, 2015: Washington, DC - According to the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guidelines; “Pressure Ulcers increase hospital costs significantly. In the US, pressure ulcer care is...
Government Data Sheds Doubt Upon Pressure Ulcers as a Quality Indicator
Nearly all organizations concerned with healthcare quality have recognized pressure ulcers as a quality indicator. This assumption has impacted reimbursement policy and facility ratings, and resulted a risk-management burden for caregivers across the healthcare...
Jean Martin Charcot’s Lecture on Pressure Ulcers: An Important Historical Document
Click here for a downloadable PDF of Charcot's Lecture on Pressure Ulcers. . Some years back while browsing in an antiquarian book sale I came across a translated collection of lectures by the great 19th century neurophysiologist, Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1893)....
History Night at the NY Academy of Medicine and Vesalius’s Historiated Initials
Click here for a downloadable PDF containing all historiated initials from the Fabrica. I’ve been a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine for over two decades, and over the years this organization has been a fountain of knowledge and learning for me....