There are an estimated 6.7 million individuals in the United States suffering from chronic, non-healing wounds. These wounds can vary from diabetic foot and venous leg ulcers to surgical and trauma wounds. Without proper care and treatment, these wounds can often lead to amputation and a decreased quality of life and satisfaction in most patients. Thankfully, the experienced nurses at Plaza Health Network rehabilitation and nursing centers are able to provide their patients a skilled approach to wound management, which also helps to prevent recurrence and infection.
Plaza Health Network’s Preventative Skin Care Program tackles complex wounds that can pose severe health risks. Their highly skilled interdisciplinary team includes physicians, physical therapists, and certified wound care nurses. Each Plaza Health Network center has an average of two to three wound care-certified nurses to address the needs of wound care patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.“Our wound care nurses provide that advanced level of care that you don’t often see at other skilled nursing centers,” said Claudia Innocent, Chief Clinical Officer for Plaza Health Network. “Our nurses have an observant clinical eye, specialized skills, and excellent documentation that helps to reduce incidence, recurrence and hospital re-admission.”
Arch Plaza Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, part of the Plaza Health Network, was recognized as a VOHRA Center of Excellence for their superior wound management program. VOHRA is the nation’s largest multi-specialty post-acute physician group. To achieve this national recognition, Arch Plaza had to meet specific criteria including have a less-than-one-percent-wound-related re-hospitalization rate, having a verified outcomes-focused wound care program, and a focus on quality and performance improvement (QAPI) approaches. The VOHRA program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, which means physicians, physical therapists and certified wound care nurses all work together in a collaborative approach. Jackson Plaza Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was also recently certified for wound care excellence though all Plaza Health Network centers are equally armed with a compassionate and dedicated wound care team.
Wound care specialized nurses throughout Plaza Health Network must go through a rigorous certification process that includes completion of a skin/wound management certification exam, at least one to two years of wound care experience, and participation in ongoing trainings in order to stay abreast of the latest standards of care.
“The hallmark of an effective wound care program is excellent outcomes,” said Elaine Bloom, Chief Executive Officer of Plaza Health Network. “Our specialized nurses are healing wounds for our patients and using extensive measures to prevent them from re-developing. These great outcomes can only be achieved through extraordinary teamwork.”