Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPIs) cause serious issues and patient harm, including pain, expensive treatments, increased length of institutional stay, and, in some patients, premature mortality. The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare estimates that each year more than 2.5 million patients in U.S. acute-care facilities suffer from pressure ulcers/injuries and 60,000 people die from their complications. They also state that the cost of treating a single full-thickness pressure ulcer/injury can be as high as $70,000, and total costs for treatment of pressure ulcer/injury in the United States is estimated at $11 billion annually.
HAPIs, also known as pressure ulcers, are often costly yet preventable events in a hospital setting. A HAPI is an injury to the skin and/or tissue resulting from an inpatient hospital visit. Resulting from shear, pressure, or both, HAPI development is additionally associated with other factors (e.g. age, perfusion, immobility, illness severity, diabetes. etc). According to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), the leading scientific authority on pressure injury prevention and treatment, “a pressure injury is localized damage to the skin and underlying soft tissue usually over a bony prominence or related to medical or other devices”. A study titled ‘Risk-Adjusted Comparisons in an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System’ estimates that HAPI rates have decreased across the United States in recent years. National HAPI rates fell from 40.3 to 30.9 per 1,000 discharges between 2010 and 2014 – a reduction of 25% from 4% to 3% of all inpatient stays.
Primo boots are clinically designed to reduce the incidence of pressure injuries on the heel. PRIMOBoot, HeelShield, and HeelCheck consistently offload the heel providing the ultimate protection against heel pressure injuries. The boots distribute the weight of the heel to the calf area to protect against excessive heel pressure. Both the PRIMOBoot and HeelCheck are designed with an internal tapered foam wedge while HeelShield makes use of only a soft fiber filling. Primo’s HeelCheck offloading heel boot is also designed for an easy heel check. Clinically designed to increase compliance, plantar panels open to assess the skin, check pulses, and cool the foot.
Wound care nurses working with Primo to reduce heel HAPIs in their hospitals swear by Primo products. We work closely with clinicians to engineer new solutions to fit their unique clinical needs. Contact Primo today to learn more.