The wound unit: a specialized unit for pressure sore management in a long-term care facility

Approximately 20% of all patients admitted to long-term care facilities arrive with pressure sores. An additional 12% develop new sores over each subsequent six-month period. Management of pressure sores has traditionally been a time-consuming, inefficient, and costly exercise. We describe the efforts to standardize and improve the care of patients with pressure sores at a 360-bed chronic care and nursing facility in Maryland. The efforts began with a pressure ulcer team, and continued with the establishment of a wound protocol and, ultimately, a wound unit.