Medline hosts infection prevention and wound care experts

By Medline Newsroom Staff | October 13, 2022

Caregiver Readiness

Medline hosts infection prevention and wound care experts

Advisory boards provide ‘lens’ into today’s healthcare challenges and solutions

Medline recently hosted skin health and infection prevention experts at the company’s Northfield headquarters to discuss and share ideas on ongoing challenges, potential solutions, and future opportunities in their given specialties of care.

The 19 experts—WOC (wound, ostomy and continence-certified) nurses and infection preventionists—make up Medline’s Skin Health and Infection Prevention Acute Care advisory boards. After corresponding and meeting remotely for more than two years, the groups finally met in person at Medline. During the all-day event, advisory board members participated in a joint round table discussion— where potential collaboration opportunities emerged—as well as sessions on specific infection and skin health strategies, from how to best partner for onsite assessments to product feedback. There also were broader discussions on staffing, education, decision making, technology and quality improvement.

Camaraderie, education and shared experiences

For the participants, the meeting provided camaraderie, education, and the chance to share common experiences and ongoing challenges—many rooted in the relentless care of patients during the pandemic.

“Hearing that we all have the same problems, the same issues, the same concerns, and being able to talk through what we can do to improve in those areas to improve patient care and decrease hospital acquired infections, is invaluable,” said Jayne Lee, RN, BSN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, an infection preventionist from a hospital in North Carolina. “I think there’s a lot that we can learn from each other.”

“Hearing that we all have the same problems, the same issues, the same concerns, and being able to talk through what we can do to improve in those areas to improve patient care and decrease hospital acquired infections, is invaluable.”

Jayne Lee, RN, BSN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC

Infection Preventionist

“I’m getting to meet people I never would have been able to meet before, and every single person has some pearl that I’m able to take back to my organization,” said Elizabeth ‘Lizzi’ Savage, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CWON, a wound care nurse at a large quaternary magnet academic medical center in New York City.

Real-life challenges and solutions

For Medline, the meeting offered “a lens into the true challenges” that healthcare facilities are facing across the continuum of care, said Katie Treptow, Medline director of marketing. The day also included sessions highlighting Skin Health and Infection Prevention products, allowing Medline to leverage frontline industry expertise in creating and improving solutions that aid clinicians in providing optimal patient care.

“We have infection preventionists and WOC nurses from facilities of all sizes across the country, and bringing them together to have conversations about the real life challenges that are happening gives us a tremendous amount of insight into how we can better support clinicians,” said Treptow.

Medline Skin Health Acute Care Advisory Board

Medline’s Skin Health Acute Care Advisory Board

“There also was a lot of discussion around how do we get staff back to basics, how do we drive education that is really focused on those best practice guidelines, and how do we empower our nurses at the bedside to provide that best in class care.”

Jean McTigue, RN, BSN, MSN, an infection preventionist from a community hospital in the Northwest, lauded Medline for seeking the input of healthcare professionals working day-to-day on the front lines of care.

“It’s nice that a company is taking the time to learn from people who are subject matter experts in the field that the products are going to serve,” said McTigue. “I love being able to give our ideas and our feedback to Medline, and I appreciate the fact that they put so much effort into having us here.”

Learn more about how Medline makes healthcare run better.

Share
Categories: Caregiver Readiness, Company News, Home hero, Infection Prevention, Skin Health

Medline Newsroom Staff

Medline Newsroom Staff

Medline's newsroom staff researches and reports on the latest news and trends in healthcare.

View All Stories From This Author