Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Maintain personal hygiene.

Try to assure adequate nutrition and hydration.

Evaluate and manage urinary and fecal incontinence.

Position to alleviate pressure over bony prominences and shearing forces over  the heels and elbows, base of head and ears.

Try to reposition every two hours when in bed and every hour when in a chair; if  alert and capable, the patient should be taught to shift his or her weight every 15 minutes while in a chair.

Use appropriate positioning devices and foam padding; do not use donut-shaped   devices.

Try and avoid placing the patient on his or her trochanters or directly on the wound.

Maintain the lowest head elevation possible.

Use lifting devices such as draw sheets or a trapeze.

Try to prevent contractures.

Do not massage reddened areas over bony prominences.

Excerpted from AMDA's Clinical Practice Guideline: Pressure Ulcers. 1996 American Medical Directors Association. Printed by written permission.