Penn State's RISE Initiative Partners with PAWSIC and Healiant to Advance Wound Care in Pennsylvania Nursing Homes

The Post Acute Wound & Skin Integrity Council (PAWSIC), a 501(c)(6) non-profit committed to advancing evidence-based wound and skin integrity care in the post-acute setting, is proud to announce its collaboration with Penn State College of Medicine Division of Geriatric Medicine, sponsored through the division's Harry Albertman Endowment, and Healiant, a certified continuing education provider, to bring PAWSIC's The Assessment-Action Blueprint for Transforming Post-Acute Wound Prevention and Care to nursing homes across Pennsylvania. This collaboration represents a significant step forward in PAWSIC's mission to elevate clinical standards in wound care and to support the clinicians who deliver that care every day.

Through this collaboration, participating facilities gain free access during a sponsored timeframe to a structured, quality improvement curriculum developed and delivered by PAWSIC wound experts. The program combines facility self-assessment tools, a systems approach to quality improvement, and evidence-based team strategies for best patient-centered outcomes. Select facilities will also gain full access to the Healiant advanced and comprehensive on-demand wound cert prep curriculum for their entire staff. The initiative reaches the full post-acute team, from certified nursing assistants to directors of nursing, medical directors, and facility administrators.

“PAWSIC's Assessment-Action Blueprint aligns precisely with the RISE endowment's mission to measurably improve clinical outcomes in Pennsylvania long-term care facilities, and it gives participating facilities an evidence-based framework they can actually put into practice.” Dr. Nicole Osevala, Penn State University - College of Medicine, Chief-Division of Geriatric Medicine

“This collaboration allows PAWSIC to extend evidence-based wound care education to post-acute facilities that will most benefit from a structured, validated program, and we are honored to work alongside Penn State's RISE team and Healiant to support post-acute leaders, clinicians, and the patients in their care.” Jeanine Maguire, PhD, MPT, CWS, President of PAWSIC

“What sets this program apart is that every member of a facility's care team is working from the same clinical foundation, which is exactly what sustainable quality improvement requires.” Dr. Nicole Osevala, Penn State University - College of Medicine, Chief-Division of Geriatric Medicine

The Division of Geriatric Medicine's endowment provides financial support for the recruitment and participation of Pennsylvania long-term care facilities in the program, including sponsored PAWSIC Professional memberships. Healiant provides commercial support toward curriculum development and, for a subset of participating facilities. Educational content is developed by PAWSIC and is maintained free from commercial bias. Commercial support is disclosed to all learners before participation.