"There is Absolutely Nothing as Painful as a Pressure Ulcer"

In a new article, "County Hospitals Reporting Fewer Medical Errors," the Ventura County Star reports on the reduction of infections in Ventura county, California.

Data from the California Department of Public Health shows the county's hospitals are reporting a decrease in adverse medical errors — “never events” ranging from surgery on the wrong body part to bed sores so deep that bone is damaged.  Although pressure ulcers or sores are not technically a “never event” (since some are unavoidable), Jim Conway, a patient safety expert who was quoted in the article believes that they belong on the list for two very simple reasons. 

“There is absolutely nothing as painful as a pressure ulcer and lots and lots of pressure ulcers are preventable,” he said.

An INQRI team at the University of Cincinnati agrees with him. Tracey Yap, Ph.D., a nurse researcher and Jay Kim, Ph.D., an engineer, are leading an interdisciplinary research team which will develop a sustainable, system-wide program for pressure ulcer prevention that enhances mobility of long-term care residents.  Check out a recent blog post by the Yap-Kim team, detailing the ways that teamwork can reduce the risk of infection.