AAWC October Update

Membership

     If you’re not yet a member of the AAWC, please read on to find out why membership and volunteerism are so important and how they can benefit you and your practice. If you are a member, please review what your association has been working on to advance the practice of wound care.

Wound Care Specialty Council (WocSpec)

     As a valuable benefit, the AAWC provides timely information on US governmental and regulatory changes via email alerts to its members. The Council has departments tackling issues and affecting decisions made regarding wound care by US agencies such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

     WocSpec’s Guidelines Department also has established venous ulcer guidelines and is currently working on a content-validation of an evidence-based set of pressure ulcer guidelines. The AAWC intends to publish “guidelines of recognized guidelines.” Our guidelines team compares all the available guidelines they can find and analyzes each one in terms of the best, most current available evidence found in the literature. Our goal is to help improve consistency and quality of care by providing a resource of the best available evidence for all aspects of venous and pressure ulcer assessment, prevention, and treatment, facilitating selection of criteria for development of individual protocols consistent with each professional setting and patient population.

     Because we believe in the “power of many” approach, we are collaborating with practitioners in all healthcare settings to ensure consistent standards of practice and improved outcomes regarding pressure ulcer management. We are moving toward completion of our pressure ulcer guidelines and thank the National Guideline Clearinghouse, the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), and authors of all current published guidelines for their prior work that has enabled and informed the project.

AAWC Global Alliance — Healing Together

     The AAWC Global Alliance was established in 2006 in cooperation with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). The alliance is the first nongovernmental organization specifically devoted to the education and training of clinicians in resource-poor nations. Contributions received from wristband sales at each SAWC conference combined with direct AAWC financial support sustains the program. The Alliance’s mission is to fund initial site visits by recognized experts in wound care and lymphedema management. These site visits are designed to evaluate local facilities, review the state of clinical management, and select local clinicians who will act as “champion” sponsors. These sponsors, in cooperation with HVO, coordinate the logistics, housing, and agenda for follow up-volunteers who are selected on the basis of clinical and teaching experience and usually visit from 7 to 10 days to teach and mentor. The program has been a great success — volunteers most often describe their experiences as “life changing!”

     We have completed initial site visits to Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Lima, Peru; Vellore, India; Vieux Fort, St. Lucia; Accra, Ghana; and Kampala, Uganda. The Ghana and Uganda sites will be ready for volunteer assignment in early 2010. To date, there are 230 clinicians representing wound care and/or lymphedema in our database.

     For further information on how you can participate in a life-changing experience, visit www.aawconline.org. Then, volunteer by visiting www.hvousa.org. After all, the meaning of life is to live with meaning.

Advancing the Practice (ATP) at AAWC’s Website

     Each month, we add approximately 150 new stories and articles to our website. Topics include wound treatment and prevention, infection control, diabetes management, psychosocial issues, lymphedema, international health, cutting-edge bench research, and healthcare reform. We have more than 50 educational tools for you, your staff, and your patients. If you’re looking for continuing education opportunities, we offer more than 100 from all around the world.

     In addition, the AAWC has more than 32 guidelines and consensus statements for your reference. Our research page has tools for clinicians and researchers at all levels, from basics on reading a paper and statistics for the novice clinician to methodology issues, ethics, and funding resources for the experienced researcher. Are you responsible for reducing pressure ulcer rates in your facility? We have a collection of toolkits for you on our “resources” page. Other toolkit topics include ethics and cultural competence.

     Each month, 2,000 people from more than two dozen countries visit the site to advance their practice. Visit www.aawconline.org and select the top left box to enter the ATP section of our website.

Patient Initiative

     The AAWC is championing an initiative to attract more patient members and provide them with a much-needed voice. This group will include patients with all types of wounds, including venous, arterial, diabetic, postsurgical, pressure, skin tears, and atypical wounds. One challenge is to help people with these various wounds understand they are all suffering with the same issue — an open lesion in the skin that often is unrecognized as a major health issue. Benefits in the making include a patient/caregiver blog at the AAWC website (coming soon). With your patient’s permission, sign up him/her for membership with a small, $30 tax-deductible contribution at www.aawconline.org.

Educational Materials

     The AAWC Public Awareness Task Force (PATF) is a multidisciplinary panel of members commissioned in 2002 to develop and implement an ongoing campaign to increase the knowledge of the general community of the existence of the Association and its members and the science of wound healing. In 2003, the task force’s goal was to develop and publish a series of educational brochures and posters, each with a focus on distinct skin issues.

     Three brochures now are available. ABCs: Abrasions, Bruises, Cuts, Skin Tears was published in two versions: one directed at the general public and one specifically for clinicians. The second brochure, The Skin You’re In, outlines general precautions as well as special care and cautions that need to be taken for seasonal skin changes. Just recently, the AAWC launched Dress and Compress for Success, a patient guide for healing venous ulcers. All brochures are available to download for free at www.aawconline.org under Professional Resources. Anyone interested in professional-quality reprints can purchase them at AAWC’s online store.

Wound Care Glossary

     The Quality of Care Task Force has been diligently working on a wound care glossary. Because the same wound care term can mean different things to different people, the task force has been researching the literature and has defined more than 300 words. This glossary will be available for purchase at the AAWC website in the future.

Nominations for the 2010 Board of Directors

     Have you been an AAWC Member for at least a year or more? The AAWC is calling for nominations for the 2010 AAWC Board of Directors. Nomination materials are due by November 12, 2009. Open positions, instructions and required documents are available at www.aawconline.org.

New! Trial Membership

     The AAWC now offers a 6-month trial membership for clinicians who want to experience AAWC membership but cannot afford dues for an entire year or would like to preview AAWC’s offerings before making a yearly commitment. Sign up for a trial or yearly membership at www.aawconline.org today and begin enjoying the many benefits AAWC offers its members!