At the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) annual conference, Innovative Research & Practice Across Populations: Connecting Science to Practice, hosted March 1 and 2 in St Louis, Missouri, four outstanding wound care professionals were honored.
Dr Barbara Braden, PhD, FAAN, is the 2019 recipient of the Joann Maklebust Lifetime Achievement Award (Figure). This award is named in honor and memory of the NPUAP Board of Directors alumna and founding member JoAnn Maklebust. It recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the NPUAP and to preventing and treating pressure injuries (PIs).
Every wound care practitioner knows the tremendous impact that Dr Braden has had on PI prevention. The Braden Scale was designed in 1984 as a screening tool for a research study to identify PI risk. Using a sound evidence base and logical approach, Dr Braden looked at multiple risk factors, but intentionally selected only the modifiable risk factors to include in the scale. Her work laid the foundation for identifying persons at risk of PIs using a valid and reliable tool. As evidence-based practice grew in popularity, the scale was widely adopted for use in clinical practice. Dr Braden is now retired and holds the title of Dean Emerita, University College and Graduate School at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.
The NPUAP Kosiak Award, named in honor of Dr Michael Kosiak for his original research on the etiology of PIs, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the prevention and/or treatment of PIs through their leadership in the fields of research, education, and/or patient care. The 2019 recipient is Dr Joyce Black, PhD, RN, FAAN, a past president of the NPUAP, current member of its Board of Directors, and professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Her substantial body of research and publications has enriched the body of knowledge on prevention and treatment of PIs both nationally and internationally. Dr Black's many significant contributions include the 2009 Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Practice Guideline and her substantial work regarding the recognition and characteristics of deep-tissue PI.
Dr William Padula, PhD, MS, MSc, member of the NPUAP Board of Directors and Treasurer, received the 2019 Thomas Stewart Founder's Award, which recognizes ongoing commitment to positively impact public policy to improve the field of PI prevention, treatment, education, and patient care. Dr Padula is an assistant professor of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics at the School of Pharmacy and Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at University of Southern California.
Dr Padula and his colleagues published Value of Hospital Resources for Effective Pressure Injury Prevention: A Cost-effectiveness Analysis and The National Cost of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries in the United States, which led to the US Senate adding PI prevention as a priority research area for the congressionally directed Medical Research Program in 2018. The US House of Representatives further approved language for a bill (HR 1133) to recognize PIs as a national emergency, citing Padula's work. The Director's Office of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has requested that a task force be established to explore new payment models that can incentivize improved PI prevention based on his published work.
The NPUAP President's Recognition Award is presented to an individual who has made special contributions to the NPUAP and to the field of PI prevention and treatment. Michelle Deppisch, PT, CWS, FACCWS, who has cochaired the Research Committee, the Support Surface Standards Initiative, and the Marketing Committee, received this award. Currently employed as the Wound Care Regional Clinical Specialist of the South Atlantic Region for Molnlycke, her previous experience includes senior skin and wound care clinician and director of Rehabilitation Services at Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The entire team of Advances in Skin & Wound Care would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to the esteemed recipients!