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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4
I
f your patients are developing pressure ulcers after surgery, read
on for several strategies sure to cut your skin injury rate. A few
years ago, when my hospital noticed an unacceptably high num-
ber of our patients were developing skin injuries 72 or so hours
after surgery, we formed a Perioperative Services Skin Wellness
Committee, which I chaired. Based on our experience, here are 7
things you can do to prevent pressure ulcers.
1
Check under the mattress
One of the most impactful changes was updating our OR mat-
tresses. We were using 2-inch foam mattresses with hard plastic
P R E S S U R E U L C E R S
How We Beat Pressure Ulcers
The 7 things we did to lower our skin injury rate.
Melanie Pipping, BGS, RN, CNIII | New Haven, Conn.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
POSITION PROPERLY Positioning a
patient is one of the biggest ways to
help your facility fight pressure ulcers.
