The PUP Program Takes a High Honor at SAWC

Congratulations to Margaret-Ann Azzaro for her poster winning first place at SAWC!

Margaret-Ann’s poster titled, Decreasing Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcers in the Acutely Ill Med-Surge Patient, took one of the first place prizes for this year’s SAWC poster session. The study details The Pressure Ulcer Prevention (PUP) Program which was designed for a unit of her facilities’ acute care hospital that had the highest PU prevalence rate. The program included designated unit skin champions, specific identification badges for the PUP team, and a signal device outside each “at risk” patient room with a similar sinal device on the wall above the patient’s bed.

The study conducted at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Mass., was designed to decrease HAPU’s in patients with multiple co-morbidities in the 26-bed respiratory unit. Because of the program protocol, and the utilization of the WAFFLE brand chair cushions and boots, the program has maintained an 83% reduction in HAPU, meaning the 26-bed pulmonary med-surg unit went from having the highest HAPU rate to the lowest.

To see the full study, please visit: www.ehob.com/img/documents/document_135.pdf