Four Wound Care Certified Nurses on Staff
The number of patients needing wound care is growing at New London Family Medical Center, creating the need for more certified nurses.
In 2009, wound care volume was 50 visits annually but jumped to 983 visits annually in 2012. “We continue to see growth in 2013,” said Sharon Kapitany RN, and manager of business and operations development and manager outpatient value stream.
NLFMC has four wound care certified nurses. Each nurse attends a National Alliance of Wound Care course through the Wound Care Education Institute, an intense week-long hands-on course with certification. The first two nurses were certified in 2010 with two additional nurses in the past three years in basic wound care. “Over the next year, additional nurses will be certified in wound care specialties such as lymphedema and ostomy care to meet the needs of our community,” said Kapitany.
With the advanced education and training, NLFMC will now be providing nail trimmings, basic foot care, foot assessments for early identification of complications and specific patient education regarding proper foot care techniques. “In addition, customers in our community requiring sharps debridement of general wounds will be able to receive the service here, close to home,” said Kapitany.
Earlier this year, Nicole Flaig, RN, from NLFMC’s outpatient treatment suite became the first wound care certified nurse to earn an additional specialty certification in diabetic wound care. Approximately 30 percent, or 6,000 residents, in the ThedaCare Physician’s New London area are diabetic. “One of the U.S. Healthy People 2020 objectives is to reduce the rate of lower extremity amputations in patients with diabetes,” said Kapitany. “The leading cause of these amputations are from foot ulcers. Prevention, early diagnosis and treatment is needed to reduce morbidity and mortality.”
New London Family Medical Center is a 25-bed, critical access hospital serving New London and nearby communities in Outagamie and Waupaca counties. The hospital, which has been in operation since 1930 and is part of ThedaCare, provides inpatient and outpatient surgery; a 24-hour emergency department; physical, occupational and speech therapies; diagnostic services including laboratory and imaging; pain management; transitional care; and a ThedaCare At Home retail store. ThedaCare Physicians-New London shares the campus of New London Family Medical Center.
