MTF Biologics Partners with Net Health Wound Care EMR

MTF Biologics, a global nonprofit organization that facilitates organ and tissue donation, recently announced a partnership with Net Health, which provides cloud-based software for specialized care. The companies note the collaboration allows MTF Biologics to offer its wound care solutions through Net Health’s WoundExpert^® EMR for use in outpatient wound care centers throughout the United States.

Designed to meet the specialty documentation needs of wound care settings, the WoundExpert cloud-based EMR provides the clinical, operational and financial tools these specialized outpatient facilities need to drive seamless workflow and positively impact outcomes, notes Net Health. The companies note the inclusion of MTF Biologics’ wound care solutions inside WoundExpert’s workflow means providers can easily and accurately document and order patient treatments. MTF Biologics’ line of premier, innovative and effective wound care solutions helps heal complex and chronic wounds efficiently and effectively, according to the company. The line includes SomaGen^® Meshed, Leneva^™, AmnioBand^® Membrane, AmnioBand^® Viable Membrane, AmnioBand^® Particulate and AlloPatch^® Pliable. 

For more information, visit www.nethealth.com or www.mtfbiologics.org.

Karen L. Kennedy-Evans to Receive Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at HMP’s Second Annual Post-Acute Care Symposium 

As part of its continued work to recognize wound care professionals who dedicate themselves to improving patient care and outcomes, HMP, a leading healthcare event and education company, recently announced that Karen L. Kennedy-Evans, RN, FNP, APRN-BC, will receive the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at HMP’s Post-Acute Care Symposium (PACS). PACS will be held May 15–16, 2020 and is co-located with the 33rd annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC)/Wound Healing Society (WHS) meeting, May 13–17, in San Diego, California.

Established by a group of volunteer wound care professionals, the peer recognition award honors a wound care specialist who has dedicated his/her career to caring for elderly residents within post-acute care settings.

Kennedy-Evans is President of KL Kennedy LLC. She has been a nurse for more than 50 years, a nurse practitioner for 46 years, and has more than 45 years of experience working in long-term care. In 1974, she became the first family nurse practitioner in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1983, she started one of the first wound care teams in long-term care while working at the Byron Health Center, a 500-bed long term care facility in Fort Wayne. During this time, Kennedy-Evans discovered a particular phenomenon that occurs before death that became known as the “Kennedy Terminal Ulcer,” leading to her authorship of the Kennedy Terminal Ulcer guide and fostering a new understanding about end-of-life care and clinical liability issues.

Kennedy-Evans has served on numerous industry boards, including the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP, now known as the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel—NPIAP), the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC), the For Recognition of the Adult Immobilized Life (FRAIL), and Skin Changes At Life’s End (SCALE). She has published numerous articles and book chapters, and has lectured extensively throughout the world.

“When we considered the list of candidates for the PACS Lifetime Achievement Award, Karen Kennedy-Evans’ name was at the top,” said Diane Krasner, PhD, RN, FAAN, co-chair for the symposium. “Karen is uniquely deserving to become the inaugural recipient in light of an outstanding career dedicated to compassionate wound caring for elderly populations residing in long-term care facilities.”

“When I joined HMP in 1991 and first became involved in the field, Karen was someone who was always available to answer questions and provide the guidance that contributed to my understanding of wound care,” said Peter Norris, senior vice president, HMP. “Her innate goodness and passion for both the specialty of long-term care and the thousands of residents she’s served over the past 40+ years is remarkable.” n

The 33rd annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC)/Wound Healing Society (WHS) meeting is the largest wound care gathering in the world. To learn more, visit, pacsymposium.com and sawcspring.com.

Briefing Suggests V.A.C. VERAFLO^™ Can Lead to Improved Patient Outcomes    

A recent Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB) concludes that V.A.C. VERAFLO^™ Therapy (KCI/Acelity) coupled with automated instillation was more effective than standard of care (SOC), including moist wound care and traditional negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), in treating acutely infected or chronic non-healing wounds, according to 3M, which recently acquired Acelity. The MIB is published by the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Additionally, 3M notes the MIB referenced findings that using V.A.C. VERAFLO Therapy could reduce patients’ length of hospital stay by 39 percent, and reduces the number of debridements from 4.4 to 2.0 for acutely infected or chronic non-healing wounds.¹ 

For more info, visit www.acelity.com. 

Net Health Appoints New CEO   

Net Health has appointed Josh Pickus its new Chief Executive Officer. Anthony Sanzo, who served as Net Health’s CEO since 2012, becomes Executive Chairman as part of the planned transition, notes the company. Pickus will lead Net Health through its next stage of growth as the market leader in cloud-based solutions for healthcare providers in specialty medical settings, including therapy, wound care, employee health and occupational medicine, and hospice, in more than 14,000 facilities nationwide.

For the last six months, Pickus served as Net Health’s President and Chief Integration Officer following the acquisition of Optima Healthcare Solutions, where he served as CEO. Prior to Optima, Pickus was the CEO in Residence at Alpine Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, and CEO of several Silicon Valley-based software companies, including Niku Corporation. He has also been a board member at numerous public and private software companies, including DemandTec and Conversica. n

For more information, visit www.nethealth.com. 

1. Gabriel A, Kahn K, Karmy-Jones R. Use of negative pressure wound therapy with automated, volumetric instillation for the treatment of extremity and trunk wounds: clinical outcomes and potential cost-effectiveness. Eplasty; 2014; 14:e41.