Product Focus: Collagen Dressing

Description:
Freeze dried sheets of collagen, particles, pastes or gels usually derived from cow hides – they encourage the deposition and organization of newly formed collagen fibers and granulation tissue in the wound bed

When to Use:
Primary dressing for chronic non-healing wounds, partial and full thickness wounds, granulating or necrotic wounds, infected and non-infected wounds, tunneling wounds and wounds with minimal to heavy exudate, depending on the form of collagen used

Advantages:
- absorbent
- non-adherent
- conforms well to wound
- maintains moist wound environment
- easy to use

Disadvantages:
- not recommended for wounds with heavy eschar
- requires secondary dressing
- contraindicated: third degree burns and sensitivity to bovine (cattle) products

Examples:
- Fibracol, BGC Matrix, CellerateRX, Stimulen, Promogran Matrix

Reminders:
- Frequency of change will vary according to product used and exudate level of the wound
- Follow manufacturer’s guidelines

Tweet

Tweet

WCEI to Partner with Wisconsin Organizations for Second Time

As a result of a successful collaboration in 2008, Wound Care Education Institute® (WCEI) will again partner with the, Wisconsin Health Care Association, Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and Metastar, in a statewide initiative directed at educating nurses within long-term care facilities in skin and wound management and the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers (also known as bedsores). The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel defines a pressure ulcer as a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony area, as a result of pressure. This initiative also allows these nurses the opportunity to become certified in wound care as a WCC® (Wound Care Certified).

WCEI will provide wound care training at a reduced price to 200 experienced nurses working in Wisconsin long-term care facilities. Upon successful completion of the training, those nurses become eligible for WCC certification through the National Alliance of Wound Care® (NAWC®). The National Alliance of Wound Care is a nonprofit credentialing board and member association dedicated to the advancement of excellence in wound care through the certification of wound care practitioners in the United States.

“We are excited that the Wisconsin healthcare organizations invited us to continue on the accomplishments of their 2008 initiative to improve patient care. The success of that program has allowed us to expand this initiative to a second phase in 2011”, said Nancy Morgan RN, BSN, WCC, Co-Founder of the Wound Care Education Institute.

Classes and WCC examinations will commence in early 2011. For complete details of the WI Wound Care Initiative, please go to the website, http://www.wcei.net.

2011 Classes
Feb 28 – March 4, 2011     March 21-25, 2011
April 18-22, 2011

Madison, WI     Lake Geneva, WI     King, WI

About the Wound Care Education Institute
The mission of the Wound Care Education Institute is to develop multi-disciplinary wound care professionals in the United States by offering educational programs and clinical support, based on up-to-date wound care research, trends, and evidence-based practice. The Wound Care Education Institute offers a comprehensive skin and wound care training program at locations throughout the United States.

Tweet

Wound Care Education Institute and The Center for Wound Healing, Inc. Agree To Provide Wound Care Certification Education to All CFWH Clinical Personnel

The Wound Care Education Institute® (WCEI) announced today a comprehensive wound certification education and training program in association with The Center for Wound Healing, Inc. (CFWH).  This association and collaborative effort provides an extraordinary  opportunity for all qualified CFWH clinical personnel including RN’s, LPN’s, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, physicians and physician assistants to become WCC® wound care certified  by completing the WCEI Skin and Wound Management Course and sitting for the National Certification in Wound Care exam offered by the National Alliance of Wound Care®.

“We are very excited to continue the growth of the WCC credential through The Center for Wound Healing’s ever expanding organization,” said Nancy Morgan,  co-founder of Wound Care Education Institute.

“This new relationship with WCEI provides us with a key capability to further develop our clinical personnel with the largest and fastest growing wound care certification program in the United States.  We have determined that all CFWH wound care clinicians who provide state-of-the-art services to our patients should be WCC certified – this is one of our definitions of Best Practices and quality of service and care we provide our hospital partners and their patients,”  said Andrew Barnett, CFWH’s CEO.  “As we further establish ourselves throughout the United States, we expect to recruit clinicians who share our clinical objectives, and the WCC certification is one of the leading confirmations of the level of expertise we deliver.  We are now and will focus on recruiting WCC’s from the network of 10,000 professionals who already have earned this important designation,“ added Barnett.

About Wound Care Education Institute

The mission of the Wound Care Education Institute is to develop multi-disciplinary wound care professionals in the United States by offering educational programs and clinical support based on up-to-date wound care research, trends, and evidence-based practice.  The Wound Care Education Institute offers a comprehensive skin and wound care training program at locations throughout the United States. www.wcei.net

About Center for Wound Healing, Inc.

The Center for Wound Healing, Inc. is a leading manager of outpatient comprehensive wound care treatment centers in partnership with hospitals.  CFWH was founded by physicians in 1997 with a focus on establishing in-hospital centers of excellence to treat the growing incidence of severe grade diabetic wounds of the lower extremities and wounds that are unresponsive to general wound care treatments.  The Company’s centers have consistently achieved high treatment success rates, resulting in a dramatic increase in patient quality of life and significant cost savings to the healthcare system.   http://www.centerwh.com

Tweet

WCEI co-founder Nancy Morgan RN rocked Philadelphia with a One Day Wound Assessment Seminar sponsored by Burman’s Medical. The room was packed with nurses, therapists and physicians from various settings including long term care, acute care hospitals, home health care , wound clinics, Insurance Companies and a few Hyperbaric Wound Centers.

Nancy covered a lot of information on Wound Assessment including Staging of wounds, types of wounds and diabetic wounds. The attendees participated and became “CSI Investigators” for the morning. Nancy engaged with the audience throughout the day by educating them about the various types of wounds and causes. She quizzed them throughout the session on the various types of wounds. The audience participated enthusiastically. Often you could hear laughter as Nancy injected her humor into the Philadelphia crowd.

WCEI offers one-day wound care courses throughout the USA year long.  Below you will find the list of scheduled dates and locations for our one-day wound care classes. In addition, for groups or organizations that want to host their own wound care course, we will come to you at the location of your choice.

For more information about a particular wound care course on a specific date at a specific location, please click on any of the underlined dates listed below.  Once you have selected a date, click the “Click here to Register” or appropriate registration link to register for the course.

Please click HERE to view the upcoming WCEI Skin & Wound Management Courses.

Tweet

As we continue with our  Wound Care Resources Series, we are featuring the Skin and Wound Resource Manual at WoundCentral.com.  As Wound Care Certified professionals, one of our responsibilities is to educate our patients and peers as well as staying informed.

We know the demands that you are faced with from a clinical, financial and regulatory basis. Because of this, we created a one of a kind, comprehensive Skin and Wound Care Resource Manual that will help you meet the demands of your daily practice.

Designed by Wound Care Clinicians for Clinicians, this easy to use manual is organized by tabs according to body systems and clinical applications.

This manual includes:

• Comprehensive coverage of policies and procedures related to skin and wounds
• Forms, tools, handouts, staff education and much more
• Extensive textbook section
• Detailed index of chapter contents located at the beginning of each chapter
• Includes a companion CD, allowing for customizing of wound care forms
• CD includes a BONUS section of Wound Images
• Extensive Glossary
• 450 Pages

This manual is thoroughly updated to reflect the current state of wound care practice with up-to-date, evidenced based expert knowledge. It is written in a step-by-step format with supporting rationales for every procedure. The procedures are cross-referenced to corresponding procedures. It contains a detailed section of tools, forms and care plans frequently used in skin and wound care. The Guidelines that are included are written for any care setting including  Hospitals, Long Term Care and Home Care. Yearly updates are available.

If you would like to see samples of the forms or for more information about this Skin and Wound Resource Manual, please visit WoundCentral.com

For more information about Wound Care Certification, check out WCEI’s Skin and Wound Management Course

Tweet

Wound Care is a hot topic in all care settings centered around the CMS no-pay condition list. This session is designed to cultivate an interdisciplinary culture to foster cohesive wound care teams. its not about the “HOLE” in the person, but the person as a “WHOLE”, and it takes a WHOLE multidisciplinary approach to reach optimal outcomes in wound care. Attend and take back this new knowledge to “WOW” your colleagues by growing your “dynamic” wound team.

Check out Wild On Wounds National Convention for more information and accommodations.

For more information about becoming Wound Care Certified, please check our information about WCEI’s  Skin and Wound Management Course

Tweet

Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) was created to fill a need for wound care education that was not being met.

WCEI founding partners Nancy Morgan and Donna Sardina, both RNs with years of practice, identified many improperly treated wounds in their nursing careers.  They discovered that there was a great need for wound care specialization, but a significant shortage of qualified wound care professionals.  They also noticed a lack of available and accessible wound care education programs.

With their shared passion for healing, Nancy and Donna started a hands-on wound care consulting company.  Finding they couldn’t be everywhere at once, and there was a limit to how many people the two of them could help, they decided that a better approach would be to provide wound care education in order to train as many health care professionals as possible.  That’s how the Wound Care Education Institute – WCEI – was born.

The mission and philosophy of WCEI is to offer these unique attributes unavailable elsewhere in the wound care education market

• To provide the highest quality wound care education possible, based on the most current standards of practice guidelines and evidence-based research.
• To openly share knowledge by making WCEI’s training available to any health care professional seeking wound care education, and by not limiting the training to only nurses or those with bachelor’s degrees in nursing.
• To focus on practical, rather than theoretical knowledge.  WCEI teaches its students what they need to know to impact care at the bedside.
• To drive knowledge down to the bedside because it is at the bedside that healing care takes place. It is at that level that wound care education is the most effective.
• To offer ongoing support to students beyond certification and to be an ongoing resource for standards of care in the wound care education field.

Our Skin and Wound Management Course is designed to provide participants with the best practices in wound care, the science behind healing wounds, and the most current standards of practice.  At the end of the course, for those that pursue wound certification the National Alliance of Wound Care® provides the  WCC® exam.

For more information on becoming wound care certified, please visit our registration page

Tweet

Roho Cushion

There are many different types of support surfaces to consider. There are mattresses and beds as well as support cushions, positioning devices, orthotics and specialty shoes that help offload pressure from areas that experience pressure or friction. Here is a a little refresher article on support surfaces.

The following is quoted from that article. “An important part of the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers is placing people on an appropriate support surface. Choosing the appropriate support surface is not an easy task as there is no standard criteria to evaluate support surfaces. Therefore, it is important to assess the performance of each type of support surface accurately, identify individual patient needs and then select the most appropriate option based on a well-informed, educated approach.”-WCIN .

Ortho Wedge Cushion

Although this is true, it lends some discussion as to how we as wound care certified professionals consider this in our approach to relieving pressure. There are so many variables that go into the decision making process that the decision itself is often delayed due to the variables. Costs, availability, compliance, resources are all variables that effect the bottom line, which is to prevent or help heal the wounds!

Aircell XL

So how do you approach pressure relief in your day to day practice? In long term care, do you have pressure relieving mattresses or alternating pressure mattresses? Are you turning Q2 hrs? Is that the extent of the pressure relief that you afford? How strong is your assessment of the patient’s need for pressure relief when they have an appointment in the outpatient clinics? Are you certain the patient has some sort of support surface? What factors do you face when it comes to ensuring adequate support for your patients?

For more information about becoming Wound Care Certified and our Skin and Wound Management Course, please visit WCEI’s registration page

Tweet

The medical record is considered to be the most reliable source for determining what happened. It is a legal document, yet not always treated as such. With litigation lurking around the corner for every healthcare professional, we, as Wound Care Certified professionals, need to make sure our documentation is complete, concise and correct. Come on it and let’s talk about correct terms, techniques, and steps it will take to keep you out of trouble.

For more information about becoming Wound Care Certified, please visit http://www.wcei.net

Tweet