Healing Wounds Daily!

Expert wound care is integral to the clinical excellence we provide at White House, and it begins at the time of admission when every resident is assessed for the presence of wounds –whether vascular, pressure or surgical.

Under the guidance of Board Certified General Surgeon Dr. Lennox Alves and our ADON Adele Anderson who is a Wound and Ostomy Certified Nurse, our specialized wound care nurses coordinate the daily wound treatment of our residents, making sure steps are in place to prevent new wounds and to measure and treat existing wounds.

Dr. Alves, who serves as Chairman of the Dept. of Surgery at East Orange General Hospital and is an Attending Surgeon at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, conducts weekly rounds at White House and is called when any serious issues arise. He does debridement at the bedside, treats the more complex wounds, and provides valuable direction to our wound care staff.

For post-surgery residents the plan of action demands follow-up communication by our nursing staff with the resident’s surgeon. For those who arrive with pressure sores – an immediate care plan is designed to initiate healing, measuring the progress weekly until complete healing is attained. Of utmost importance are our strict wound care protocols of changing wound dressings frequently to maintain a clean and bacteria-free wound bed, and encouraging and assisting our patients to turn as needed. Surface support includes low pressure air loss mattresses, and special wheelchair cushions.

Wound healing however, is a complex and fragile process impacted by many factors – diet being at the forefront as proper nutrition is key to the healing process. Our dietitians are quite involved, making sure our residents receive the precise nutritional elements they need and sustaining continuous interdisciplinary communication with both the nurses and the lab, as protein values are checked.

“When doing my work I put a smile on the patient’s face. It is most gratifying when I see improvement and a wound is resolved.”
– Chantal Joseph, LPN Wound Care Nurse

Communication indeed plays a vital role in the outstanding level of care at White House and our wound care team excels at that. They coordinate seamlessly with the unit nurses, the dietitians, and everyone else involved in the patient’s care – and, most importantly, are a reassuring presence at the patient’s bedside all through the healing process.