The Wound Center of a 500 bed, community, teaching
hospital in Midwest USA, is responsible for conducting
quarterly pressure ulcer prevalence
studies (PUPS) and completing consultation for hospital-
associated pressure ulcers and other chronic
wounds as well as developing wound treatment
plans for hospitalized patients. Certified wound
and ostomy nurses and advanced practice nurses
are responsible for developing and guiding standards
of practice for prevention and treatment of pressure
ulcers. Each quarter the wound center nurses conduct
a pressure ulcer prevalence study (PUPs), a
one-day survey of all patients to determine the number
of pressure ulcers. The data from these surveys
from 2006 to 2009 demonstrated an increasing trend
in hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs)