Lessons from Joplin, etc...

Dear Friends,

I listened to the speakers at the Indiana Trauma Symposium who were from the "other" Joplin Hospital. 1500 patients showed up in the first 4 hours! My takeaways in the bed world were this: If you are counting on electricity to keep your patients floating then have a back-up in an emergency. They said all their energy consumption went to XRay and CT Scan. Everything else had to go.

So keep a few cases of WAFFLE Mattresses in the basement and have some protection! Plus they are new beds in a crisis. Joplin had patients on the floor EVERYWHERE.

On another note, Silver Cross Hospital just moved their entire at-risk patient from the old hospital to the new ones, on WAFFLE Mattresses.

And I got a great note from a patient the other day who travels on one daily for her dialysis commute.

So versatile!

Why would you use a WAFFLE(r) Mattress on a "NEW BED"

I am continually asked why would a hospital use a WAFFLE Mattress on a "NEW BED SURFACE". I thought I would provide my thoughts:

First, I am not knocking "NEW BED SURFACES". All of us in industry are trying to solve this problem of pressure sore formation.

But the WAFFLE Mattress has a place in this discussion also, and in many cases a very viable product to be used in conjunction with other technologies. We are complimentary and provide the continuum of care. So lets look at a couple of issues:

1. Pressure Redistribution and Evidence-Based Independent clinicals:
Look at the websites listing clinicals for the "NEW BED SURFACES" and the WAFFLE Mattress. I'll let you come to you own conclusions.

2. What does your front line nurse do when she sees a Stage 1 develop on a NEW BED SURFACE?
In my scenario, she goes down to the Supply Closet and places an inexpensive Waffle Mattress as extra protection for that patient. This gives her a low-cost intervention, nursing solution, to a problem for her, the patient, the facility and the family.

3. Use of the WAFFLE Mattress for turning and moving and transporting.
The new clinical by Terry Hobbs outlines the effectiveness in using WAFFLE for this. We know that most staff injuries occur in patients less than 200 lbs and in bed re-positioning, and the WAFFLE does a great job of helping with this. And families can learn to use this tool at home! Which leads me to:

4. Use of WAFFLE in the Continuum of Care
We spend vast sums of money protecting patients in the hospital and then send them home with nothing. The WAFFLE goes home with the patient! Huge benefits from this!

5. Implementation in ER
Once again, all our focus is on solutions in ICU and Med Surg, and we overlook the fact that 6 hours in ER or 4 hours in PACU can have devastating consequences up on the floors. I'm not saying the WAFFLE Mattress is the answer to everything, but if nurses implemented in ER for those likely admits, I think we would see a great drop in nosocomial rates. We are just now beginning to recognize this issue, so further study is coming.

6. What about the side rails?
I hear this over and over. A properly filled WAFFLE Mattress only raises the patient 1/2 inch above the bed surface. It is built concave so it cradles the patient in the bed. I know of no reported incidents involving a height issue.

In Conclusion:

THE NEW BEDS are fine products, but so are WAFFLE Mattresses. I think they can work well together to acheive the desired end: no pressure or shear wounds. I certainly have a bias, so take this for information only, but cost does not equal efficacy, and just because you only hear this message from me (and many many caregivers who have shared their concerns and ideas with me) does not make it any less valid. I say give clinical options to your staff. Empower your front-line caregivers to make judgement calls. And never ever say "never!"

"One wound prevented can pay for a years supply of WAFFLE Mattresses."

EHOB is a registered trademark of EHOB, Inc.

Pressure Redistribution