A Low-Risk, Real-World Evaluation in High-Acuity Environments
Acute care patients face high risk for hospital-acquired pressure injuries.
FACT: Turning and repositioning is proven to be effective to reduce hospital acquired pressure injury incidence and prevalence rates (1,2,3,4)
FACT: 30 degree lateral positioning wedge cushions are proven to be more effective to provide lasting support in a position that sustains pressure relief off the sacral/coccygeal area. (1,2,3,4)
The root cause of pressure injuries is not pressure, friction & shear or moisture. If we could float our patients in an anti-gravity chamber without a diaper, our HAPI rates would be zero.
The blame doesn’t lie with caregivers, but the solutions do.
The first step to solving the many problems caregivers have with trying to mitigate pressure, friction & shear and moisture, is to understand exactly what those problems are, then empower staff to solve them.
The reasons caregivers have difficulty mitigating pressure, friction & shear and/or moisture centers around one or more of the following reasons;
Turning and supporting the patient in a position of sustained pressure relief was not possible due to medical, behavioral, compliance or time/organizational issues.
The implemented support solution failed to support the patient in an offloaded position of sustained pressure relief. The device was either not set properly or could not be set properly due to
Staff did and documented every possible effort to the best of their ability to relieve pressure and maintain best possible perfusion but was unable to do so adequately. The patient sustained a pressure injury despite all efforts to prevent that from happening. HAPI was unpreventable due to circumstances beyond the control of the hospital
Hospitals interested in lowering HAPI rates benefit from achieving best possible turn support for at risk patients.
The positioning support devices are the key equipment in this effort. The devices must be flexible enough to accommodate patient specific physical requirements. Caregivers must be empowered with the time, knowledge & skills required to achieve the best possible sustained pressure relief and friction & shear mitigation.
In most cases, effective and reliable support cushions will improve compliance with meaningful use and timely interventions, ultimately lowering HAPI rates.
The Jewell Nursing Solutions Acute Care Focused Pilot Program is a turn-key expedited cost-effective way for your team to evaluate our pressure-relieving positioning wedge in an acute care environment to determine whether the cushion:
Conduct a practical and expedited evaluation under real acute-care conditions.
To determine whether this ICU pilot is appropriate for your unit
We’ll schedule a brief discussion to understand your ICU’s needs and review next steps.
