Sunday, April 13th, kicked off the beginning of WOC Nurse Week, which will last until April 19th. During this week, we here at 180 Medical honor and recognize the many wonderful WOC nurses across the nation. The ultimate goal of this week is to educate and make others aware of the work that WOC nurses do every day.
What is a WOC Nurse?
WOC stands for the areas in which a nurse specializes: Wound, Ostomy, and Continence. So WOC nurses specifically care for and help treat patients with wounds, ostomies (urostomy, colostomy, &/or ileostomy), and/or continence issues, such as bowel or bladder incontinence.
A recent study conducted in home healthcare settings found that WOC nurses can greatly affect patient improvement levels. Per this study, patients who were taken care of by a WOC (as opposed to patients who did not have a WOC nurse) were:
- Nearly twice as likely to have an improvement in pressure ulcers.
- 20% more likely to have an improvement in lower extremity ulcers.
- 40% more likely to have an improvement in surgical wounds.
- 40% more likely to have an improvement in urinary incontinence.
- 14% more likely to have an improvement in bowel incontinence.
The above information can be found at www.wocn.org.
Join Us in Honoring WOC Nurse Week
Lastly, we just want to say thank you to all WOC Nurses, including those who help take care of our customers every day! We appreciate and honor your compassion, care, and knowledge in your field of specialization.
