Wound Healing and Care Program

The Laurels’ Wound Healing and Care Program is developed to meet the needs of individuals with slow-healing or non-healing wounds including pressure wounds, diabetic ulcers and surgical incisions. Underlying diagnoses may include diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, nutritional deficits, limited mobility or compromised immune systems. As a result of these conditions, severe wounds may take weeks to heal before a patient can be discharged. After the healing and any surgical procedures have been completed, The Laurels’ Wound Healing & Care Program is designed to promote wound healing and to facilitate the transition from an acute care hospital to home or to a lower level of care environment.

This Program also meets the needs of individuals at high risk for the development of pressure wounds. This population includes orthopedic cases such as hip fractures, replacements, casts or splints that limit bed mobility. This Program also benefits those patients who are nutritionally-compromised with diabetes, require total enteral nutrition or require dialysis or hospice. It also benefits elderly patients who are deconditioned and in need of an extended recovery period.

Program Design

An interdisciplinary team will meet routinely to establish treatment goals and review progress.  The team will consist of the patient’s physician, case manager, registered nurse, registered dietitian, in-house physical therapist, and may also include a consulting enterostomal nurse, pharmacist or specialty physician. Services provided may include:

• Pressure relief
• Dressing changes
• Nutrition management
• I.V. antibiotics
• Debridement
• Irrigation
• Specialty beds

Our preventive measures are administered by The Laurels’ nursing staff and includes a thorough skin assessment, development of a specific skin care treatment and a regularly scheduled reassessment for any necessary change in care.  We place those at high risk on mattresses which have pressure reduction properties and are designed to minimize the occurrence of skin breakdown.

The Laurels’ Wound Healing and Care Program follows Federal standards established for the efficient delivery of wound care.

Program Protocol

The Laurels’ Wound Healing and Care Program is appropriate for adult patients who have:

• An established diagnosis
• Completed any invasive procedures
• Stabilized in their medical condition  (e.g. stable cardiac status, no excessive bleeding) or
• A prognosis of recovery and discharge to a lower level of care

Patients remain in the Wound Healing and Care Program until established goals are met or until transfer to a lower level of care can occur.

Attending primary care physicians and/or surgeons are welcome to follow their patients participating in our Medically Complex Programs. If that is not feasible, a member of The Laurels’ medical staff will attend to the patient.