Driving hospital-acquired pressure ulcers to zero

Abstract

The prevention of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers remains a top priority for health care facilities worldwide. This article discusses a process improvement in an intensive care unit where the unit-acquired pressure ulcer rate was dropped from 30% to 0% by front-line staff nurses. The key areas addressed by the staff were education, creating a process for turning patients during bedside report, and the creation of a documentation tool for accurate skin/wound assessment. Involving front-line staff in the prevention methodology creates a process that is quickly adopted by staff, peer-to-peer accountability in accurate skin/wound assessment, and positive outcomes.

Keywords: Bedside report; Braden score; Change process; Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers; Intensive care unit; NDNQI pressure ulcer education; Staff nurse accountability; Unit-acquired pressure ulcers.