Monday, January 26, 2015

Hospitals Shown How to Stop Causing Pressure Ulcers

The National Decubitus Foundation, home of the NDF Prevention Protocol,  has created a prominent link on its home page (www.endbedsores.org)  to allow hospitals to easily find a mentor who will provide guidance to show the hospital how to stop causing pressure ulcers.  Many hospitals have reduced their bedsore incidence rate to near zero.  Eight of these hospitals have volunteered through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to provide guidance to hospitals that are still causing bedsores.  Now hospitals have no excuse for continuing to cause pressure ulcers.

Thirteen states now require hospitals to post their medical errors, including Stage III and IV pressure ulcers.  The NDF will now concentrate on urging the other 37 states to follow their lead.  Where information is available, the NDF will contact the worst performing hospitals to show them how they can get help. 

Hopefully this is the start of the end of hospitals causing pressure ulcers.