title: The wound unit: a specialized unit for pressure sore management in a long-term care facility.
abstract: Approximately 20% of all patients admitted to long-term care facilities arrive with pressure sores. An additional 12% develop new sores over each subsequent six-month period. Management of pressure sores has traditionally been a time-consuming, inefficient, and costly exercise. We describe the efforts to standardize and improve the care of patients with pressure sores at a 360-bed chronic care and nursing facility in Maryland. The efforts began with a pressure ulcer team, and continued with the establishment of a wound protocol and, ultimately, a wound unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taler
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fredman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lazur
mesh_terms: D015142:Baltimore; D006757:Hospital Units; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000628:therapy*