The goal of hospice is to help patients live each day as comfortably as possible. Unfortunately, nearly 40% of hospice patients suffer from pressure injuries, causing discomfort for them and their family members.

Gentiva, a nationwide hospice provider serving 430-plus communities in 36 states, is taking a proactive approach to standardizing wound care with the ultimate goal of promoting optimal skin care, comfort and dignity.

Most recently, Marie Foster, a registered nurse and Gentiva’s utilization manager of medical supplies, brought her clinical teams to Medline for the company’s skin health boot camp. The two-day training was hosted at Medline’s headquarters by the healthcare company’s clinicians to help Gentiva’s care team improve their skills in caring for the skin.

“We are committed to making care a more personal experience for our patients,” said Foster. “With hundreds of clinicians across the country, we recognize that the different levels of knowledge and approaches to wound care can impact both utilization of products and clinical best practices. Our goal is to leverage tactics to ensure every clinician is equipped with the latest knowledge and tools to provide the very best care.”

Helping to ‘align our clinical teams’

More than 20 nurses from Gentiva engaged in the training, with topics ranging from creating a culture of safety, anatomy and physiology of the skin, dressing changes, and helping provide skin health education to a patient’s family.

“The format of the boot camp was beneficial for increasing knowledge on specific types of wound care products and the methods in which those products support optimal outcomes for patients. We had many tenured nurses attend, and the information provided was a great refresher. It will help us align our clinician teams on using consistent language and best practices,” Foster added.

The boot camp is part of Gentiva’s larger clinical education strategy. Another clinical initiative is focused on education surrounding the providers’ Interdisciplinary Team, driven by a three-pronged approach utilizing the clinical, operational, and education teams to improve quality patient outcomes. According to Foster, interactive training incorporating wound care identification and hands-on application are critical as the hospice industry continues to grow and care for patients with chronic diseases. According to a Research and Markets report, the hospice industry is expected to reach $64.7 billion by 2030, a rise from $34.5 billion in 2022.

“Education is a critical component of workforce engagement and our skin health boot camps is just one example of how Medline is creating educational opportunities to optimize patient care outcomes,” said Luke Duncan, Medline Post-Acute Care director. “For a hospice care organization like Gentiva that is focused on helping patients live as fully as possible, it is important for us to help their care teams continue to learn new skills.”

Learn how Medline supports hospice providers in providing high-quality patient care.