JCR, Hill-Rom Launch Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residen...( OAK BROOK Ill. and BATESVILLE Ind...),Health

OAK BROOK, Ill. and BATESVILLE, Ind., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Recognizing the important role nurses play in translating evidence-based findings to excellent care at the patient's bedside, Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Hill-Rom (NYSE: HRC), are collaborating to launch a Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program in 2009. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission. Hill-Rom is a global medical technology company.

The Nurse Safety Scholar-in-Residence program will focus initially on developing tools and best practices to maintain skin integrity and prevent pressure ulcers. An estimated 2.5 million patients are treated for pressure ulcers in acute care facilities in the United States each year, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 and 2006. In the future, expert nurse clinicians and scholars in the program will concentrate on putting into practice evidence-based solutions to prevent patient falls. Both pressure ulcers and in-hospital falls are among the preventable conditions and events on Medicare's "no pay" list.

"Nurses play a role in all patient safety efforts and this scholar-in- residence program will give nursing leaders an opportunity to develop and share innovative solutions to these significant patient safety problems," says Deborah Nadzam, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., practice leader, Patient Safety, JCR.

"At Hill-Rom we strive to use our resources in ways that make a difference every day in the lives of patients and their caregivers," says Melissa Fitzpatrick, R.N., M.S.N., F.A.A.N., vice president and chief clinical officer for Hill-Rom. "We see collaborating with JCR in this important research as one key way to support the discovery of new solutions to truly enhance the safety and ultimate positive outcomes for patients.
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