By: Louise Lindsey, B.S., M.A., D.Div.
According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (CDC), the demographics of residents in skilled nursing facilities is changing. Today’s residents are older and generally have more pre-existing conditions such as diabetes that can lead to wounds. The CDC also reports that a high number of residents in U. S. nursing facilities suffer continuously from wounds.
Wounds in nursing homes consist of pressure ulcers, bed sores, lesions, cuts, or any other open injury on the skin and body. Without proper care, wounds can become infected at a much higher rate for elderly persons compared to the average healthy adult. These wounds can leading to serious health issues such as additional illnesses and even death. The key to helping nursing home residents is to have a qualified medical staff on board who can properly identify each wound and treat it successfully.
As a preventive measure against serious complications and to ensure that a wound that may have gone unnoticed is properly detected, every nursing home resident needs to have skin checks and examinations. Even if nothing seems amiss, all residents should have a skin check by a nurse on their bath day. Nurse aides should be thoroughly trained in detecting skin changes and pressure areas while providing daily care.
When a wound is identified, it needs to be properly classified as Stage I, II, III, or IV. The classifications move up to represent a higher level of severity. Stage IV is considered an emergency stage with permanent damage to tissues and exposure of tendons and/or bone.
Proper medical attention should immediately follow once a wound has been staged. Depending on the severity of the wound, proper care will range from antibiotic treatments, specialized bandage care, skin grafts, wound vacuums, compression therapy, oxygen therapy and more.
After proper care is provided, the resident should be monitored at regular intervals to ensure healing has begun, and to watch for any development of infection. Additionally, immobilized residents need to be moved at least every two hours. Appropriate bedding and devices should be used to help minimize the pressure on the wounds.
Nutrition is another important factor that is frequently overlooked when treating wound. It should never be assumed that a resident’s nutritional intake is “up-to-par” when dealing with wounds. Macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, and protein) are extremely important to a patient recovering from a wound, and nursing home staff members should always make sure that their residents are getting the required amounts.
Some nursing home facilities are using wound specialists in dealing with their resident’s wound care needs. Wound specialists are healthcare professionals who have been trained in the care and treatment of all types of wounds, acute and chronic. Among the most commonly treated wounds are those sustained from an acute injury, surgical wounds, diabetic wounds and pressure sores.
