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AAWC News
AAWC News
As the leading multidisciplinary, not-for-profit, wound care organization in the United States, the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) seeks to advance the care of people with and at risk for wounds. Members have access to a wealth of information and resources, including scholarships to attend professional meetings, professional guidelines, and free subscriptions to Ostomy Wound Management and Wounds. Members also benefit from significant discounts on the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Spring and Fall, the Wound Certification Prep Course, and other useful wound care educational offerings. For more information on the AAWC, see our member benefits and application on page 13 or visit AAWC online at www.aawconline.org.
Puerto Rico in Need
Through a combined effort with HMP, the exhibitors at SAWC Fall donated wound care products for shipment to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. The AAWC greatly appreciated the efforts of HMP and the companies that helped with this project so expeditiously.
AAWC Podium to Practice Track for SAWC Spring 2018
The AAWC’s Podium to Practice track at SAWC Spring 2017 was a big success; 3 of the top-rated sessions offered at the SAWC were part of the AAWC track. This evidence-based, patient-centered program delivers useful wound care practice information and skills knowledge that can be implemented immediately upon return to your office.
Make plans now to take part in the annual AAWC Podium to Practice Track at SAWC Spring in Charlotte, NC, April 25–29, 2018. A sampling of 2018 sessions includes:
- There is No ‘I’ in Team: Joining Forces with Undervalued Players
- Physical Activity and Neuropathy: It’s Safer Than You Think
- Surgical Wounds and Fistulas: Controlling and Containing the Aftermath of Surgery
AAWC Pressure Ulcer Summit Planned
The AAWC has announced plans for its first regional meeting, “AAWC Pressure Ulcer Summit: Interpretation and Clinical Application of Current Evidence for Pressure Ulcers.” The regional meeting is taking place February 9–10, 2018, at the Marriott Gateway, Atlanta, GA. The AAWC Pressure Ulcer Summit brings together an international forum of leaders in wound care and pressure ulcer prevention and management to present the latest research in the field with an emphasis on clinical implementation. Register for this interdisciplinary and highly interactive program today!
AAWC International Consolidated Guidelines Task Force
In the spirit of collaboration, the International Consolidated Guideline Task Force (ICGTF) teams are working to consolidate, develop, and maintain evidence-based clinical wound care guidelines. The ICGTF now comprises 5 collaborating societies:
- AAWC (host, with 28 participating volunteers)
- Wound Healing Society (Liaisons: Lisa Gould, MD, PhD, FACS; Paul Liu, MD, PhD)
- Canadian Association of Enterostomal Therapists (Liaisons: Karen Bruton, RN, BScN, MCISc-WH, CETN(c); Karen LaForet, RN, MCISc, IIWCC, VA-BC™; Karen Napier, RN, BScN, CETN(c), MCISc-WH)
- Asociación Mexicana para el Cuidado Integral y Cicatrización de Heridas A.C. (Liaisons: Diana Vilar-Compte, MD, MSC; Jose Contreras Ruiz, MD)
- American Professional Wound Care Association (Liaisons: Steven J. Kavros, DPM, MAPWCA, FACCWS, CWS; Jeff Niezgoda, MD, FACHM, MAPWCA, CHWS).
Each guideline is designed to empower and harmonize patient-centered, evidence-based, multidisciplinary wound team practice as patients transition across settings. An update of the 2015 ICGTF Venous Ulcer Guideline can be found online at: https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/resources. The 2015 update of the ICGTF Pressure Ulcer Guideline will be released this fall.
Individuals and societies are invited to collaborate on the ICGTF projects. Please visit the AAWC website at https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/volunteer and complete the online form.
Recruit a Member Program
Take part in the 2017 “Recruit a Member” raffle. If you are planning to join AAWC and know an active AAWC member, note the member’s name as a referral partner (ask permission first) when registering. A drawing will take place in January for a complimentary AAWC membership to be awarded to both members for the following year. The program ends on December 31.
AAWC Education Committee News
The fairly new Education Committee was created to identify opportunities within the organization to streamline projects among the multiple committees and task forces.
The charter for this committee charges the team to develop criteria for scholarly, quality, branded AAWC products; standardize the image of AAWC materials; identify a means for coordinating similar content for diverse audiences; and provide a peer-review vetting process for AAWC products.
This team noticed the AAWC has several different educational and public relations materials that need a common brand. Those materials include the AAWC letterhead, patient education brochures, PowerPoint slides, YouTube videos, and the website; the goal of Education Committee is to create an easily recognizable AAWC image. The committee is working diligently to create a “look” that complements the current AAWC logo but that will standardize our image and project professional, crisp, colorful products. Our Committee is consulting with a graphic designer to help standardize the AAWC look among the many educational tools available.
Join the AAWC Speakers Bureau
The AAWC Speaker Bureau is an excellent resource for conference planners and others. Members can join the Speaker Bureau by obtaining an application on the Speakers Bureau Page (https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/speakers-bureau). If a speaker is accepted, his/her information will be listed on the AAWC website for easy access by potential program managers, conference planners, and corporate event organizers. Please help spread the word about this worthwhile program.
AAWC Members Making a Difference
The AAWC Global Volunteers program sends AAWC members to underresourced sites around the world to improve the quality of wound and lymphedema care. Currently, there are sites in Haiti, Cambodia, and India. Unlike some other groups that focus on providing direct care, this program focuses on teaching the local clinicians. The impact of this capacity-building approach on the local health care professionals far extends the time they spend with the AAWC professional volunteers.
This year, Karen Albaugh, PT, DPT, MPH, CWS; Pamela Cole, PT, CWS; Patricia Hill, PT, CWS; and Katherine Vanderburg, LPN, WCC, WTA, volunteered their time to travel with the AAWC Global Volunteers program; Karen, Pamela, and Katherine were awarded scholarships for their travel. Renee Cordrey, PT, PhD(c), MSPT, MPH, CWS, Chair of the Global Volunteers Committee, states “The program is really amazing, but I’m a little biased. A piece of my heart is still in Siem Reap, Cambodia.” The AAWC thanks the AAWC volunteers for traveling globally to teach modern wound care practices.
Materials (eg, curricula and sample slides) are available to help prepare volunteers. Financial support is offered each year; details may be obtained upon application. Interdisciplinary travel pairs are encouraged, and Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) can assist in setting up a pair if desired. To learn more, visit the Health Volunteers Overseas website at https://hvousa.org/ourwork/programs/wound-lymphedema/.
AAWC Scholarship Program
Scholarship funds are available every year starting in January for wound care teaching, learning, and travel. Members in good standing for 1 year can apply by visiting https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/scholarships. Consideration will be given to support events that may have already been paid for (such as a college course) as well as events that will occur in the near future. The winners of the 2017 AAWC Scholarships will be announced soon.
Perks and Pearls Program
The goal of the AAWC Perks and Pearls program is to educate the public about wound care by providing wound care-focused, clinical practice education through Pearls that are routinely posted on the AAWC’s social media pages. All Pearls are coupled with a brief, highlighted membership benefit reminder or Perk. The Pearls are archived as a series on the AAWC website. Learn more about the program and submit a Pearl at https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/clinical-pearl-submission-form.
Update to the AAWC Wound Care Career Center Package
Looking for qualified help? At the AAWC Career Center, the Real-Time Job Matching technology now identifies qualified candidates from a vast national resume database. It then delivers them ranked by match score so employers can focus on the best matches first. This service makes finding the most qualified applicants fast and easy. The AAWC Career Center is still moderately priced and now provides the highly sought-after Candidate Resume Boost feature that matches open positions with passive candidates in an instant.
Looking for a job? The Association also supports all job seekers regardless of membership with free access to the AAWC Career Center. Get connected to companies seeking employees in the wound care industry and help grow the Career Center. Sign up today at https://aawconline.memberclicks.net/career-center.
AAWC Public Awareness Task Force (PATF) News
The AAWC Patient Education Brochure series has released a new addition! There now are 8 brochures:
- The SKIN You’re IN
- Dress and Compress for Success
- Take the Pressure Off
- The ABCs of Wound Care, 2015 edition
- Clean Up to Heal Up
- Win the Battle Against Infection
- Defend Your Diabetic Feet
- Eat, Drink, Heal (newest brochure).
The PATF has been busy this year expanding the popular patient education brochure series. Defend Your Diabetic Feet, released at SAWC Spring 2017, provides essential information and helpful tips to educate patients and their caregivers on how to protect and prevent injuries to diabetic feet. It also describes signs and symptoms that should be evaluated by a qualified health care provider as soon as possible. Eat, Drink, Heal debuted at SAWC Fall 2017 and explains why good nutrition is important to wound healing and how water is a vital part of good nutrition.
The educational brochure series is available for download in English and Spanish oat www.aawconline.memberclicks.net/wound-patientcaregiver-resources. You may print and distribute the brochures without cost or permission if they are used for educational purposes. To avoid printing and assembling brochures, purchase quality reprints in large or small quantities for the office or clinic from the AAWC Store.
Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate Sponsors include skin/wound care product and service organizations. Sponsor companies receive many individual benefits, including an exclusive opportunity for industry to meet with AAWC Board Members as part of the Corporate Advisory Panel (CAP). Quarterly CAP meetings provide an opportunity for industry supporters to have a more individualized interaction with AAWC officers and other key wound care industry leaders through discussions of key Association initiatives, including health care policy advocacy, program development, and research outcomes.
Sponsorship support shows Industry recognizes the value of the Association in the wound care space. Gold Sponsorship provides a unique set of benefits, including access to AAWC membership to conduct clinical surveys. Visit the AAWC website to view the benefits for all 3 levels of support.
This year’s AAWC Corporate Sponsors (Gold, Silver and Bronze levels) include:
Gold Level: Acelity, Mölnlycke, Smith & Nephew
Silver Level: 3M, Convatec, Hollister, Integra Life Sciences, Medline, Osiris Therapeutics
Bronze Level: BioCompression Systems, Boyd Technologies, MiMedx and Wellsense, Inc.
The AAWC also has a Corporate/Manufacturer Membership category. This unique category of membership for employees of wound care companies and receives all benefits of an individual membership, and includes a free listing on the AAWC website.
Please encourage your company to become an active, involved, collaborative industry sponsor of the AAWC to improve the care and lives of people who suffer with wounds. The AAWC is grateful to all of its 2017 corporate sponsors.
AAWC Online Store Improved
The new AAWC Store is open for business. Members can now order directly from the public AAWC store at https://aawc.myshopify.com. As a reminder, AAWC membership provides many benefits, including discounts on purchases. To receive the discount, a code will be needed when finalizing your purchase. The code can be found on the Members Only web page.
The following quality items are available for purchase in the new store:
- Educational Wound and Skin Care Brochures (8 informative choices, including the newest brochure, Eat, Drink, Heal)
- Educational Wound Image Series (5 unique CDs) —members receive a 50% discount
- Patient Education Posters (a great size at 11” x 17” – FREE. Pay only for postage and handling).
AAWC YouTube Channel
Have you ever wanted to refer patients to YouTube to learn more about wounds but don’t have the time to pour through hundreds of optionss looking for quality videos with accurate information? Check out the AAWC Channel at www.youtube.com/user/AAWCWoundCare. There you will find the videos professionals are seeking; they pair well with the AAWC educational brochures. Most are aimed at the patient or lay caregiver; some are intended for the clinician. Subscribe to the channel and bookmark your videos today.
Clarifying the Difference Between the AAWC and SAWC
The AAWC is a not-for-profit association sustained by its 1 primary financial resource: tax-deductible membership dues and donations. To learn more about the AAWC or become a member, visit the website at www.aaawconline.org.
The SAWC is the official meeting site of the AAWC, providing a venue for the interdisciplinary wound care community to gather, network, and learn.
About AAWC
AAWC is the largest, not-for-profit membership organization in the United States dedicated to interprofessional wound healing and tissue preservation. AAWC’s mission is to advance the care of people with and at risk for wounds. The Association’s focus is on education, public policy, and the application of evidence-based wound care practice. AAWC offers membership and associated benefits to everyone involved in wound care, including clinicians and other healthcare professionals, patients, lay-caregivers, clinics/facilities, corporations, students, retirees, and advocates. Learn more about financial and other benefits, activities and programs, and/or join at aawconline.memberclicks.net.
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