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October, 2003
For Immediate Release
3M Wound Coach program benefits healthcare professionals, patients, and hospitals
London, ON - For health care facilities, always conscious of the bottom line, a single chronic wound translates up to approximately $40,000 in additional costs. The cost associated with the treatment of pressure ulcers has been conservatively estimated between $12,000 and $40,000 per ulcer. Pressure ulcers are a serious problem that affects approximately 10-15% of all hospitalized patients. Skin breakdown can be prevented - in a system that is increasingly cost-restrictive and resource stricken, being able to integrate best practices in skin and chronic wound care is a real challenge. If only there were someone to coach health care professionals on how to prevent skin breakdown and/or effectively manage chronic wounds. Fortunately, now there is.
3M Wound Coach is a resource developed and delivered by the wound care professionals at 3M Canada. Essentially, it is an approach that will provide integration of best practice guidelines for skin and wound care. With it, 3M will be there as a resource for the organization to develop a customized program for their facility. 3M Wound Coach helps prioritize the critical steps in advanced wound care to maximize the benefits for the patient, the facility, and the health care provider.
3M has worked closely with health care leaders in developing this tool and 3M Canada is the first company to incorporate this approach in advanced wound care. Recognizing the essential need for this service, 3M is doing it at no cost for their customers. Clinical research has already confirmed that the implementation of a clearly articulated wound care model results in improved patient care and cost reductions. With the expert assistance of 3M Wound Coach, that knowledge can now be integrated more efficiently.
3M Wound Coach will enable hospitals and other health care facilities to develop a seamless, interdisciplinary, team-oriented, best evidence/best-practice guideline approach to chronic skin and wound care management. 3M Wound Coach is a revolutionary concept that will not only facilitate best practice guideline integration for improved patient outcomes, but will also provide continuing professional development for clinicians to sustain those practice changes.
The potential benefits of 3M Wound Coach are:- Improved patient care with decreased pain and trauma and increased healing rates;
- Minimization of skin breakdown thereby decreasing complications;
- A decreased average length of stay for patients;
- A tool-kit approach to wound care, specific to an institution’s needs;
- Cost savings through integrated best practices and improved product utilization.
3M values partnership and we are committed to the translation of the best evidence into clinical practice. Wound Coach is a resource that will enable organizations to increase the efficacy of patient care, enhance clinician’s knowledge, skill and expertise and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Established in 1951 as one of the first international subsidiaries of the global 3M Company, 3M Canada employs more than 1800 people across Canada and had annual sales exceeding $1 billion (CDN) in 2002.
3M is a $16 billion (US) diversified technology company with leading positions in industrial, consumer and office, health care, safety, electronics, telecommunications and other markets. The company has operations in more than 60 countries and serves customers in nearly 200 countries.
Contact 3M Canada PR department. |
