We join others in our grief over the death of Charles Lachenbruch, PhD. The Journal has a tradition of honoring the passing of individuals whose contributions have advanced wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) care on a global basis, and Dr Lachenbruch's contributions clearly place him among these historically important figures for our specialty practice. Charles Lachenbruch was born in 1955. He grew up in northern California, earned his bachelor's degree from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, followed by a master's degree in Exercise Physiology from North Texas State in Denton, and a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. Charlie's career was dedicated to improving the health of others. During his early career, Dr Lachenbruch worked on technology to cool organs in patients with multisystem trauma, minimizing trauma caused by ischemia during lifesaving surgery. Charlie's professional pathway intersected with WOC care in 1997 when he assumed responsibilities as Director of the Biometrics Laboratory at industry partner Hill-Rom (Batesville, Indiana). He subsequently served as a consultant until 2004 and full-time Biomedical Engineering Specialist until 2013 when he was appointed Chief Scientist of Global Research & Development for Hill-Rom in 2013 where he served until his untimely death in 2018.
His genuine interest in understanding the support surface world outside the acute care setting was especially notable to me as a home care WOC nurse. - -Dianne Mackey
While his contributions to the development of pressure redistributing support surfaces are substantial, Dr Lachenbruch's contributions went far beyond the responsibilities of his "job description." For example, Charlie was an active member and leader within the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel's (NPUAP's) Support Surface Standardization Task Force (S31). This task force developed the standardized terms and definitions used by clinicians and manufacturers of support surfaces to this day, and it developed meaningful tests of support surface performance that went beyond marketing needs to provide evaluation of pressure redistributing properties, microclimate, shear, and alternating pressure properties. He also reached out to clinicians and researchers alike in order to strengthen our knowledge of the complex relationships among pressure, tissue load, shear, and moisture essential to understanding the complex pathophysiology of pressure injury.
Charlie was a strong supporter of clinicians, always seeking our advice and points of view even when we did not necessarily agree with him. He was a gift to WOC nurses and our patients. - -Margaret Goldberg
Dr Lachenbruch also acted as investigator and mentor for evaluation of data from the International Pressure Ulcer Prevalence Survey, which has built one of the richest and most extensive databases in pressure injury care and prevention. The publications generated from analysis of this database extend well beyond mere evaluations of specific support surfaces, specialty beds, or related pressure redistributing devices. Dr Lachenbruch's group published fundamental research exploring the epidemiology and characteristics of medical device-related pressure injuries, predictors of superficial pressure injuries versus more severe pressure injuries in hospitalized patients, and the effects of linen on pressure injury development.1-3 In a landmark articles published in the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN), Dr Lachenbruch's group evaluated the relationship between incontinence and pressure injury risk, including full-thickness wounds.4 The pioneering work in this study is a cornerstone of our knowledge of the long suspected but elusive link between incontinence, incontinence-associated dermatitis, and development of full-thickness pressure injuries.
Those who met Charlie will miss him; those who did not will reap the benefit of his work for decades. - -Laurie McNichol
Dr Lachenbruch was also keen to share good news concerning our shared goal of pressure injury prevention. In a 2017 study published in JWOCN, Dr Lachenbruch's group reported that the overall prevalence and the prevalence of facility-acquired pressure injuries have significantly declined over the past decade, providing solid evidence of the ongoing and innovative work by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, often led by a dedicated team of WOC nurses.5
Charlie was our great friend as well as our colleague. He was patient, kind, thoughtful, and always tried to see all sides of an issue before he spoke with great insight. His contributions to product design are substantial but cannot compare to his daily contributions to our team, and all of you whose life he touched in a remarkably positive way. - -Cathy VanGilder
We remember Dr Lachenbruch for more than these substantial and sustained contributions to the science that supports WOC practice. Charlie was an inspiring educator, mentor, and tireless advocate for interdisciplinary teamwork. As an educator, Charlie was known for his ability to demystify complex concepts such as immersion, envelopment, and variability in pressure mapping. As a mentor, Charlie worked tirelessly with young engineers at Hill-Rom, guiding them through complex surface and product design ideas, implementing those ideas, and testing for efficacy. As an active participant in setting standards and policies for the pressure injury prevention efforts of the NPUAP, the WOCN Society, and others, Charlie was ahead of his time when he tirelessly advocated for diverse, inclusive, and transdisciplinary groups that included nurses, physicians, physiotherapists, and other clinicians, basic scientists in the fields of physiology, physics, and material sciences, along with biomedical and other engineers. We join others in honoring Charlie's professional contributions to WOC care, celebrating his contributions to the careers of colleagues and lives of countless patients that went beyond professional responsibilities, and mourning his loss.
Contributors:
Cathy VanGilder
Laurie McNichol
Dianne Mackey
Margaret Goldberg
Mikel Gray
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