Educating Staff - What Wound Clinic Clinicians Need To Know
June 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Val Sullivan PT, MS, CWS
You have been asked by your facility’s administrative team to train a staff for the new Wound Center that is to open in a few short months or even weeks. That should be fairly simple, right? After all, seasoned nurses, physical therapists, and other clinicians from multiple disciplines have been hired. Or maybe it’s not so easy. Often, staff members hired for hospital outpatient wound centers are pulled or transferred from the acute care setting — folks who enjoy caring for patients with wounds who have worked with the general hospital population, not exclusively with wound patients. This can present challenges in the educational process. Hiring an experienced wound care practitioner will require specificity in outpatient clinic training.
Top 10 Concerns - Challenges to consider as you’re getting started
June 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Several times a week, wound care professionals call with questions about their wound clinics. Following are the top 10 questions that were asked in 2006 — common concerns among wound care centers. We present these questions as reassurance: if you have these dilemmas, you are not alone.
Getting Started
June 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Caroline E. Fife, MD, FAAFP, CWS;
And Dot Weir, RN, CWON, CWS
The beginning is the most important part of the work. — Plato
Since the ancient Greeks first put honey in wounds, our comprehension of wound management has been a slow but steady journey. An understanding of the germ theory led to sterile, dry dressings and frequent antibiotic scrubs. The original work by Dr. George Winter, published in 1962, demonstrated the value of a moist wound environment. Now, recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering hold out the possibility for growing replacement tissue s and blood vessels. Between these extremes lie semi-synthetic human skin, dermal scaffolds, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure therapy, topical growth factors, and a billion dollar dressing industry.
How Are We Doing? Evaluating Your Wound Clinic Operations
June 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Terry Treadwell, MD, FACS
After a seemingly interminable amount of time, your wound center is open. You are seeing patients and helping them with their chronic wounds. Everything is going well.
Or is it? How is the wound center really doing? Are you practicing thorough, efficient, efficacious, cost-effective, evidence-based wound care? Are your patients doing well — ie, healing and/or comfortable? Are they happy with the way care is provided? Are you making any money (a distasteful but realistic question)? How do you know (ie, is any of this documented)? These difficult questions must be answered if you are to provide patients the best care available in a fiscally responsible manner. Read more
Celebrating a Grand Opening
June 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Health First Wound Management and Hyperbarics Center, a $1.45 million facility in Palm Bay, Fla, is scheduled to open June 2007. The 7,000-squarefoot center will house a brand new, state-of-the-art, eight-person multiplace hyperbaric chamber.
The Wound Management and Hyperbarics combined program will provide the opportunity for patients to be treated by a multidisciplinary team that includes local independent podiatrists, neurologists, internal medicine physicians, and general surgeons. Under the leadership of Medical Director Michael Ott, the center will create convenient, comprehensive treatments for patients who may benefit from the specialized oxygen therapy, as well as individualized treatment plans for each patient based on the type of wound and its underlying cause.
To facilitate chronic and acute wound care, the center features five exam rooms and is staffed by two podiatrists,a general/vascular surgeon, three RNs, one LPN, one Medical Assistant, and two office techs. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the hyperbaric chamber is available 24/7 and accepts emergencies. TWC asked staff representatives to explain how Health First Wound Management and Hyperbarics Center came to be.
TWC: How was outpatient wound care handled before the wound care opening?
HFWMHC: Patients were treated by Physical Therapy or in their physician’s office.
TWC: How was the idea for a freestanding wound clinic developed?
HFWMHC: The hospital recruited a professional in business development who specialized in wound care/hyperbarics. The strategic planning involved projecting patient visits; type of wounds that would be treated; variety of physicians and staff needed; a financial feasibility study; wound care pathways for arterial, diabetes, peripheral vascular, and pressure ulcers; equipment/instruments/dressings to be utilized; and the engagement of related departments, including pharmacy, environmental, finance, infection control, quality and outcomes, the ER, and dietary. Administrators involved included the Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President of Nursing, and the Chief Financial Officer.
TWC:How did you select your location?
HFWMHC:We chose to locate offsite of the hospital (within 2 miles) in an area that could accommodate a large parking lot and first floor access.
TWC: How was scope of practice (services provided) determined?
HFWMHC: We decided on provision of service by finalizing hours of operation, types of patients and ages, physician specialty, emergency versus non-emergency, and modes for referral (self or physician).
TWC:How is/was the facility marketed?
HFWMHC: Postcards were sent to the community and physicians. We also created press releases and gave presentations to medical staff, department heads, and the community. We made physicians aware through education.
TWC:What is the anticipated number of patients you will see?
HFWMHC: For wound care, we are looking at 7,200 per year. For hyperbarics, 200 per year. ■
Readers with additional questions are invited to call Terika L. Haynes, MHA, Health First Administrative Resident, at (321) 837-1995.
Let’s Get It Started
June 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
You are part of the planning of your wound care clinic. Administrators, perhaps somewhat skeptical of return on investment, have admonished you about limited funding. Wanting to provide your wound clinic patients the best available care, including the latest technology for diagnosis and treatment, you initially “think big,” but quickly wax realistic, relying on the evidence base for alternatives to advanced diagnostic tools and dressings. It would be nice to have a computerized program to track wound healing but wouldn’t a skilled clinician with a ruler and regular documentation of measurements serve the purpose, at least initially? You ask, Where can we compromise cost without compromising care?
If You Build It, They Will Come: Marketing Your Wound Clinic to Its Fullest Potential
June 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
After spending much hard work, time, and money planning your wound clinic, you might expect that you only need to open the doors and your appointment book will fill. Wrong! All too often, we do not give marketing its due. But is it marketing— or education — that is required? Read more
