The treatment of pressure ulcers and other chronic wounds is about to be revolutionized with the founding of the Program for the Advancement of Chronic Wound Care at the Yale School of Nursing (YSN). The YSN Program, announced on February 20 and planned for development over the next three years, represents a $1 million investment by Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and ConvaTec, the company’s ostomy and wound care products business.
The first academic program of its kind for wound care, the YSN program will address an unmet need in the rapidly growing older adult population - the group most at risk for developing chronic wounds. Equally importantly, it will provide statistical proof of the best protocols of care, from both a clinical and economic perspective, for chronic wounds. Accordingly, it is expected to be influential in driving policymakers to adopt those protocols to benefit patients and reduce cost of care.
“The potential impact of this project to change the world view on how chronic wounds are prevented and managed is significant,” said Courtney Lyder, director of YSN’s Adult, Family Gerontological and Women’s Health Division, who will direct the new wound care program. “The most exciting aspect of this project is the potential to influence policies from a local to federal level based on scientific data. Clinicians have been looking for evidenced-based protocols from an objective source for many years, thus the ability to finally meet that clinical need is a dream come true.”
Lyder is widely known for his work as an educator, researcher and practitioner in wound care and minority aging. David Johnson, senior vice president, ConvaTec, Americas, said, “The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s financial commitment towards Yale, a leading academic institution, and Dr. Courtney Lyder, a respected lead investigator, will potentially benefit millions of Americans who suffer from chronic ulcers in the future.”
One of the first initiatives of the program will be to invite three major academic centers in diverse geographic locations in the United States to participate in a one-year, 600-subject prospective study on best protocols of care for chronic wounds. Senior investigators from participating centers will gather major literature on best practices and design the study to compare these protocols to current practice.
“To my knowledge, this is the largest undertaking of its kind to better understand best practices in wound care,” said Linda Pruitt, ConvaTec’s director of Medical Education, Americas, who has worked as the initiative’s facilitator on the ConvaTec side. “The initiative will be comparing best practices to real world practice. The study will include participants from hospitals, nursing homes, wound care clinics, and home health care.”
The study will also address the issue of cost, another “real world” approach that will help practitioners and reimbursement sources adopt new best practices established by the study. Joseph Rolley, ConvaTec’s director of Outcomes Marketing, Americas said, “It will offer the policy makers something to hang their hats on.”
Vincent Chiodo, vice president, Marketing, Americas, emphasizes the place that the new wound care program has within the context of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s priorities and mission. “Given the aging population in this country, identifying best practices for wound care is an imperative,” he said. “Partnering with the Yale School of Nursing on this initiative is an example of how Bristol-Myers Squibb responds innovatively to the changing needs of the people it serves.”
Margaret Grey, associate dean for research affairs at YSN, said, “This project is part of YSN’s ongoing effort to improve patient care practices. YSN’s collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb and ConvaTec will improve the quality of life for millions of patients by facilitating best wound care outcomes.”
