Use of a sacral silicone border foam dressing as one component of a pressure ulcer prevention program in an intensive care unit setting.

In 2008, patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Danbury Hospital, Danbury, Connecticut, experienced 79 pressure ulcers. As a result, pressure ulcer-prevention interventions were standardized in critical care and medical-surgical units and education was provided to all direct patient care staff about principles of skin care and prevention. Following these efforts, 53 ICU patients developed pressure ulcers in the sacral area in fiscal year 2009, representing a 12.

Patient education materials from the layperson's perspective: the importance of readability.

Accessible patient-friendly materials are a useful and cost-effective way of increasing patients' knowledge and allaying their fears. This article describes how nursing leadership at a hospital in Connecticut created a patient education committee to review and help draft materials and developed a Web site to centralize these materials for staff and patients. A patient panel was implemented to test materials; results highlighted the need for planning and testing of materials on target audiences.