The Skin Preservation Program from Shield HealthCare is a comprehensive educational resource that educates, informs and empowers individuals with information on current best practices in skin care.
With over 1600 combined hours of specialized wound training and 100+ Certified Wound Care Market Specialists, Shield HealthCare understands that skin issues are complex, and can affect overall health and well-being.
Why Skin Preservation?
Maintaining skin integrity, and restoring compromised skin, are some of the most fundamental goals for health care professionals and individuals with skin care concerns. Best practices in skin care – including evidence-based measures to prevent, heal and restore skin integrity – are instrumental to reducing the financial, clinical and psychological impact of skin breakdown.
The 3 Main Practices of the 
Program
- Identify skin risks. Understanding the etiology of skin damage and what risk factors contribute to skin breakdown empowers individuals to identify conditions and wounds before they deteriorate further, and jump-start the process of recovery.
- Resolve issues quickly. Skin and wound care products are not one-size-fits-all. Ingredients that improve one clinical condition may cause further damage in another. Resolving skin damage means knowing what products to use and how and when to use them.
- Prevent reoccurrence. By following a good routine of evidence-based preventive care, individuals can see an overall reduction of skin breakdown and improved skin health. This can lead to improved outcomes and a higher quality of life for patients, families and caregivers.
Benefits of the Program
Patient Benefits
Our Skin Preservation program is designed to reduce the risk of skin breakdown which can bring with it pain, infection, and potentially life-threatening complications. Our educational resources contain information that can improve mobility and overall emotional well-being. We believe by utilizing these resources, satisfaction and quality of life can be improved for patients, families and caregivers.
Clinical Benefits
The Skin Preservation program educational resources can help clinicians achieve improved patient outcomes and quality of care, while reducing length of hospital stays, and patient pain, infection and morbidity.
Financial Incentives
Health plans and Medicare are tying more payments to quality of care and patient outcomes than ever before. Medicare has not paid for many hospital-acquired conditions since 2008, including catheter-associated urinary tract infections and stage III and IV pressure ulcers. By implementing our Skin Preservation resources, professionals and patients can see significant cost savings under the new value-based care mandates.
Program Resources
- Pressure ulcer identification and documentation guides
- IAD (diaper rash) identification, prevention and treatment
- Stoma care for ostomates and tube-fed patients
- Nutrition and wound healing PowerPoints and brochures
- Monthly webinars and educational in-services
- Quarterly informative Skin Prevention newsletters
- Catheter troubleshooting and Frequently Asked Questions
To learn more about the importance of skin preservation, read our article “Skin Preservation: Why Skin Health Matters.”
