Poster Presentation at NPUAP

I have just been notified that our abstract has been selected for presentation at the NPUAP Biennial Conference in Las Vegas Feb 25-26, 2011.  This should be a wonderful opportunity to tell the NDF story, to  expose decision makers from hospitals across the country to the NDF Prevention Protocol.  We will also present preliminary results from our current effort to define the types of support surfaces that are suitable for use with the protocol.

How Do Hospitals Get Away with It?

Today's daily bedsore news on the NDF website (decubitus.org) tells the story of a family arrested because an 80 year old mother developed bedsores.  But hospitals are allowed to cause bedsores with impunity, even now that bedsores have been declared a medical error.  Even nursing home operators are prosecuted, but hospitals get away with it.

The Colorado Hospital Report Card

Colorado passed House Bill 06-120 requiring that quality measures for all hospitals in the state with over 100 beds be posted on the internet.  That has been done since 2007.  One of the quality measures for which hospital comparisons are available is pressure ulcers.  For 2009, four hospitals are designated below average.  Thay are Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, Longmont United Hospital, and Rio Grande Hospital.  We will contact each of those hospitals in an attempt to make them aware of the NDF Prevention Protocol, and to urge then to adopt the protocol.

Institute for Healthcare improvement

The IHI is conducting its annual conference noe in Florida (Dec 5 - 8).  Suggest going to their website and letting them know that we don't think they are paying any attention to the problem of bedsores caused by hospital care.