Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Mary Job
Grand Canyon University
NRS 451 V
Dinwiddie Sandra
April, 22, 2012
Pressure ulcer prevention (PUP) in surgical patients has become a major interest in acute care hospitals with the increased focus on patient safety and quality of care. A pressure ulcer is any area of skin or underlying tissue that has been damaged by unrelieved pressure or pressure in combination with friction and shear. Pressure ulcers are caused due to diminished blood supply which in turn leads to decreased oxygen and nutrient delivery to the affected tissues (Tschannen, Bates, Talsma, &Guo, 2012). Pressure ulcers can cause extreme discomfort and often lead to serious, life threatening infections, which substantially increase the length of stay and total costs of care and compromise quality of care. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an executive summary of a project that is introduction of pressure relieving surfaces to reduce the occurrences of pressure sores in surgical patients to the Board for approval of funding of the project. Indeed prevention and management of pressure ulcers is a priority for all health care settings, the purpose of this project is to emphasize the importance of using gel filled overlays in operating tables and use of high specification foam surfaces for post operative patients and allow funding for the project. The main concept behind the project is to provide the surgical patients with mattresses that are pressure reducing, pressure redistributing or pressure relieving. The high specification foam mattress moulds or contours to the body, helping to relieve pressure and stop ulcers from developing.
Our target population includes all surgical patients undergoing prolonged surgeries and the post operative patients. Surgical patients are particularly at high risk. Patients undergoing surgical procedures who are immobile for long periods are unable to change positions are at greater risks than patients who are mobile.
Mary Job
Grand Canyon University
NRS 451 V
Dinwiddie Sandra
April, 22, 2012
Pressure ulcer prevention (PUP) in surgical patients has become a major interest in acute care hospitals with the increased focus on patient safety and quality of care. A pressure ulcer is any area of skin or underlying tissue that has been damaged by unrelieved pressure or pressure in combination with friction and shear. Pressure ulcers are caused due to diminished blood supply which in turn leads to decreased oxygen and nutrient delivery to the affected tissues (Tschannen, Bates, Talsma, &Guo, 2012). Pressure ulcers can cause extreme discomfort and often lead to serious, life threatening infections, which substantially increase the length of stay and total costs of care and compromise quality of care. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an executive summary of a project that is introduction of pressure relieving surfaces to reduce the occurrences of pressure sores in surgical patients to the Board for approval of funding of the project. Indeed prevention and management of pressure ulcers is a priority for all health care settings, the purpose of this project is to emphasize the importance of using gel filled overlays in operating tables and use of high specification foam surfaces for post operative patients and allow funding for the project. The main concept behind the project is to provide the surgical patients with mattresses that are pressure reducing, pressure redistributing or pressure relieving. The high specification foam mattress moulds or contours to the body, helping to relieve pressure and stop ulcers from developing.
Our target population includes all surgical patients undergoing prolonged surgeries and the post operative patients. Surgical patients are particularly at high risk. Patients undergoing surgical procedures who are immobile for long periods are unable to change positions are at greater risks than patients who are mobile.
References: Legood, R., & McInnes, E., (2005). Pressure ulcers: guideline development and economic modeling Tschannen, D., Bates, O.,Talsma, A., & Guo, Y. (2012). Patient- Specific And Surgical Characteristics In The Development Of Pressure Ulcers Whitehead, J. S., & Trueman, P., (2010) To what extent can pressure relieving surfaces help reduce the costs of pressure ulcers? Nursing Times.net Retrieved April 21, 2012, from