A Multifunctional Dressing for Effective Wound Care in Home Health

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Judy Burbage, RN, CWON, shares key insights from her poster, "A Multifunctional Dressing for Effective Wound Care in Home Health," presented at SAWC Spring 2024. See the original interview on WoundSource.

Transcript:

Judy Burbage, Registered Nurse, Certified Wound Ostomy Nurse. I practice in home health within the Charleston, South Carolina area.

Within my home health agency, a couple of years ago, we were introduced to the polymeric membrane dressing. Being new to us, we wanted to see how it worked. We were anxious to see the effects on wound healing. Several patients had impressive healing responses so I decided to do a more formal evaluation of the polymeric membrane dressing. At the time we had some unusual wounds such as the patient with the Sweet Syndrome associated with the diagnosis of acute myeloblastic lymphoma and an impressive forehead hematoma after a fall.

The methods on our home health patients, they were chosen based on the wound type and also the assistance of the nurse case manager. The four patients chosen included two patients with different circumstances of deep tissue injuries, deep tissue pressure, injuries on lower extremities, and also the Sweet Syndrome and the forehead hematoma. And all the details of course of those patients are listed in the poster. And what we found was very positive results in wound healing.

In home health, of course, our patients have multiple comorbidities in a variety of home settings as well. So not all were quick to heal, but we witnessed increased granulation, decreased wound size, and increased patient comfort as well. And the results as mentioned impressive wound improvement and dressing changes without pain.

What I think is interesting obviously home health is a very unique environment with many benefits. to wound healing out of the control of the clinician compared to inpatient environment or even outpatient wound centers. We rely on family members, other caregivers, or the patient themselves to participate in wound care. So with the improvement in wound care and the comfort, especially with dressing removal, the patients and caregivers were able to see the results and become more engaged in the wound care themselves. We found the dressing to be very user friendly. So as the patients and/or caregivers became more comfortable removing the dressing, cleaning the wound, applying this dressing as instructed by the home health nurse, their confidence grew and they were able to take on the task of wound care. And in doing that, the home health nurse was able to decrease the frequency of visits. And of course, that plays into more efficient use of nursing time as well as a decrease in supply costs to the agency. And that was one very easy to use wound dressing.