Quality Partners of Rhode Island equips healthcare providers with Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers

Quality Partners of Rhode Island, the state's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO), has equipped Ocean State nursing homes working to reduce pressure ulcers with copies of the Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers, a new reference resource.

Co-authored by Elizabeth Ayello, PhD, RN, and Jeffrey Levine, MD, the Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers is part of a toolbox of support services and resources Quality Partners has delivered to help hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers, especially in frail and elderly patients. Its work is part of a close partnership with the State of Rhode Island to improve resident safety, quality of care and quality of life in nursing homes. It's also part of Quality Partners' efforts under the Medicare program's 9^th Scope of Work, which each year identifies specific areas of focus for states' healthcare quality improvement activities.

The Pocket Guide is published by NJHA Healthcare Business Solutions, an affiliate of the New Jersey Hospital Association. Like Quality Partners of Rhode Island, NJHA's Institute for Quality and Patient Safety has targeted pressure ulcer reduction and prevention as a centerpiece of its own quality improvement efforts. Its two-year pressure ulcer collaborative achieved a 70 percent reduction in incidence rates and has been presented internationally before the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and in journals and conferences across the United States.

"In 2008 and 2009, Quality Partners convened a cross-setting pressure ulcer collaborative with 11 hospitals, 13 nursing homes and two home health agencies. Participants attended a series of learning sessions and were provided with on-site coaching and tools and resources to support their improvement efforts. Copies of the Pocket Guide were supplied to all participants who appreciate both the quality of the guide and the convenience of something they can keep with them at all times," said Gail Patry, RN, senior director of quality programs at Quality Partners of Rhode Island.

"It's gratifying to partner with our colleagues from Rhode Island to share experiences and resources that will help even more patients," said Aline Holmes, RN, senior vice president of clinical affairs for NJHA and director of the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patient Safety. "When it comes to quality improvement, we're all in it together."

The Pocket Guide is a durable, spiral-bound reference resource with descriptions, color photographs, illustrations and charts to help bedside staff accurately identify and document pressure ulcers. It also provides information on documentation requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services such as the "present on admission" indicator in acute care, MDS in long term care and OASIS-C in home health. Co-author Ayello, PhD, RN, FAPWA, FAAN, is past president of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and a nationally recognized speaker, author and editor. Dr. Levine, MD, AGSF, CMD, is a geriatrician on staff at the St. Vincent Hospital Wound Care Center in Manhattan and a longtime presenter, author and blogger on wound care.

Quantity discounts are available for healthcare organizations that want to equip their team with this practical reference guide.