Palliative Care for Non-Healing Pressure Ulcers
There is a saying that time heals all wounds, but this is not always the case for pressure ulcers. Those of us who care for patients with pressure ulcers know that some wounds will not heal, and cure becomes an unrealistic goal. Partnering with the patient and family...
Improving Communication in the Wound Clinic
8 Steps to Developing a Community-Based Wound Care Team: A Practical Guide for Reaching Beyond Wound Center Walls By nature of their various (and often multiple) comorbidities, wound care patients reside in a spectrum of healthcare settings. Communication is important...
Pressure Ulcer Guide Helps New Jersey Nursing Homes
In an unusual agreement between the New Jersey Hospital Association, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the New Jersey Department of Health, the Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers authored by myself and Elizabeth Ayello PhD, RN will be distributed...
My Mentor in Geriatrics: Leslie S. Libow MD
Were it not for Leslie S. Libow I would not have entered the specialty of Geriatrics. This past weekend at the annual meeting of the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), I sat in the audience as Dr. Libow received the prestigious James Patee Award for...
Webinar on Infectious Aspects of Chronic Wounds
This is a webinar I recently delivered on Infectious Aspects of Chronic Wounds including Infection Control. It was sponsored by the Gold STAMP (Success Through Assessment, Management, and Prevention) program, which is funded by the New York State Department of Health...
Aging in Central Asia
In May 2012 I traveled to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to photograph aging and gain better understanding of international differences in how people grow old. I was amazed to learn the extent that elders are revered in traditional Kyrgyz society. The collapse of the...
Research Links Nursing Home Staffing to Death from Viral Gastroenteritis
Low staffing levels in nursing homes have long been linked to adverse outcomes such as pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections (UTIs), weight loss, dehydration, and deterioration in ADL’s, but new research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American...
New Research Sheds Light on Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcers
A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society sheds light on hospital acquired pressure ulcers with data on epidemiology, mortality, and patient characteristics. Its results are certain to fuel the debate on avoidability of pressure ulcers....
New Research Fuels Discussion on Feeding Tubes and Pressure Ulcers
The medical literature concerning patients with advanced dementia has consistently shown that feeding tubes provide little benefit. Complications of feeding tubes can include aspiration pneumonia, diarrhea, agitation, need for physical and chemical restraint, and...
Risk Management Tips for Physicians Caring for Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Pressure Ulcers are a growing target for attorneys bringing claims against hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors. Pressure ulcers are a universally recognized quality indicator, and since 2008 they are part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)...
The Evolving Standard of Care for Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers are not just “a nursing issue,” but involve the entire health care team including doctors. In this recent research study, we demonstrated that a group of physicians knew less about pressure ulcers than most nurses.
Pressure Ulcer Nomenclature and Documentation
Flawed and inconsistent wound documentation has serious risk-management implications. This blog post will examine some fine points regarding pressure ulcer nomenclature and documentation. Many definitions and classification schemes for pressure ulcers were developed...