The Association for The Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) has just wrapped up its pressure ulcer summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Highlights included:
- The patient journey
- International participation and sharing of approaches (Switzerland, UK, Ireland, Mexico, and others)
- A pressure ulcer workshop
- Technical and scientific discussions
- Challenges and opportunities across the continuum of care
- Advocacy for policy changes (lobbying)
- Administration, operations, billing, and related session
- Showcasing of new technologies for prevention, early detection, and treatment
Many attendees shared very positive feedback that they appreciated being able to dive deep into the pressure ulcer diagnosis, etiology, and treatment delivery, as opposed to covering many types of advanced wounds at a basic, surface level. In keeping with this approach, the next AAWC conference/education series will be a Wound Infection Summit to dive deep into the unique considerations for prevention and management of those wound types.
Immediately following the summit, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kara Couch MS, CRNP, CWS. In addition to her active clinical role at The George Washington University Hospital’s Wound Healing and Limb Preservation Center and multiple scientific and editorial advisory board positions (including Today’s Wound Clinic together with Diligence Wound Care Global Managing Director Rafael Mazuz), she is also a board member and Secretary of The AAWC.
We discussed a range of topics, including product standardization, organizational structures and collaboration models for wound care programs, KPIs and metrics, digital health, and prevention. Watch the full interview below: