Practical Tips for Scar Reduction According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 51.4 million surgeries performed in the US annually1, four million of which are open abdominal surgeries.2 Abdominal surgery skin closures are often performed using staples, which produce track marks and scarring. Without much data available regarding the…
Eloquest Healthcare is excited to welcome back Jo Ann Brooks PhD, RN, FAAN, FCCP to the Eloquest Healthcare Blog! Jo Ann is the System Vice President for Safety and Quality at Indiana University Health (a 16 hospital system) based in Indianapolis, IN. She is responsible for evaluating and aligning quality and safety activities/initiatives across the system for…
We would like to begin this post by thanking you for being part of the Eloquest Healthcare Blog (affectionately referred to as “The EHB”) during its inaugural year. Whether this is your first or you’ve read every post, the EHB wouldn’t exist without you! A Year in Review 2017 was an interesting year, especially as…
The previous blog of this 2-part series focused on the importance of proper dressing removal, especially in oncology patients. We examined how the use of an adhesive remover with ports, PICC lines, and their associated dressings can help reduce the risk of damage to fragile skin in this patient population. (View Blog 1 of 2.)…
This is the first of a 2-part series focusing on the importance of proper dressing removal. Skin injury happens across all care settings and among all age groups.1 When proper technique for the application and/or removal of adhesive products is not used, tissue damage can occur, which not only impacts patient safety and quality of…
Welcome back to the third in this series of blogs focusing on Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSIs). In the first blog, the importance of ensuring the integrity of medical dressings and devices over extended periods of time was reviewed (View Blog 1 of 3). Blog 2 of the series reviewed the clinical impact products compatible with…
The last blog began a 3-part series focusing on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). We saw that as vascular catheter use has increased, bloodstream infections have become a costly complication of health care. We also reviewed how preventing dressing disruption with Mastisol Liquid Adhesive® reduces the likelihood of dressing displacement and minimizes the risk of infection.…
This is the first of a 3-part series focusing on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). As catheter use increases, bloodstream infections (BSIs) resulting from intravascular catheters have become a costly complication of health care. To start, the terms CRBSI and central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) are often used interchangeably to describe intravascular device (IVD)–related bloodstream infections.…
PROCEDURES WHERE KITS HELP Vascular Access Devices PIV Starts CVC Insertion PICC Lines Epidurals Dressing Changes Surgical Procedures In our last blog, we reviewed how standardization of procedure kits can help your facility by increasing overall compliance to best practices. Yet another advantage of procedures kits is the financial benefit. A case in point is…
Most likely, your practice has standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality of care. In fact, an article in Modern Healthcare cited that 30% of inefficiencies in our healthcare system today are driven by a lack of standardization and a lack of care coordination.1 In the pursuit of creating “best practices” in your facility,…