Organizational Change Yesenia Acosta NUR 587 Prof. Doria Chege

Organizational Change It was brought to the attention of the Shared Governance Committee that the rate of unit acquired pressure ulcers had increased dramatically over the past quarter. The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel defined a pressure ulcer as a localized injury to the skin or the underlying tissue that usually occurs over a bony prominence. A pressure ulcer develops as a result of prolonged pressure to these bony prominences such as the heels and sacrum. They develop once there is a combination of pressure and shear. This pressure is known to cause skin breakdown. In addition to being complex, pressure ulcers are prevalent, deadly, and costly to treat. Rosenberg (2002). One of the strategies used around health care facilities for ulcer prevention is repositioning every 2 hours. It is evidence-based that turning a patient every 2 hours will help prevent pressure ulcers from developing. During one f our monthly SGC meetings we identified this to be a big problem in our unit. As a team we analyzed different methods to correct this problem. We came up with a plan and addressed any possible barriers we would need to consider. In the following paper we will discuss the changes we plan on implementing and how we will address influencing factors for change within our unit. As one of the chairs for my units shared governance council I must address any existing issues in our unit. An issue that was brought up to our attention by our patient outcome facilitators was the fact that the rate of our unit acquired pressure ulcers had increased dramatically over the past quarter. We decided to bring this important matter to the meeting and open it up for discussion