Perfecting Prone Protocols in the Face of a Pandemic

BONUS SPONSORED WEBINAR!

September 16, 2020

As proning becomes a familiar treatment method for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, this webinar, sponsored by Hillrom, reviews the need to prone patients diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Jessica Montanaro, MSN, RN, Assistant Nursing Care Coordinator at Mt. Sinai and Neal Wiggermann, PhD, CPE, Research Scientist at Hillrom review the need to prone patients diagnosed with ARDS and the look to the experience of one extraordinary care unit in New York as they worked to adjust their protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proning, while an effective treatment for ARDS patients, is a complicated maneuver for nursing staff to execute. To effectively prone a patient, many departments must work together to ensure the patients safety. The presenters discuss how to effectively manage the team dynamic through ample communication, having a protocol in place and established, and other ways to create process and procedure during a time of great chaos. The second half of the webinar provides a review of methods used to prone patients in the ICU. Methods are explained and compared using illustrations and video. Considerations for each method include staffing required, necessary equipment, safety for caregivers and relative risks for patients. The speakers discuss how utilization of these various methodologies changes or alters the dynamic/makeup of a prone team and how to ensure you’re still effectively communicating and working together to protect the patient.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) specific pathophysiology and how proning benefits patients diagnosed with ARDS
• Review components of a prone protocol and necessary adjustments during the pandemic
• Discuss roles, responsibilities of cross functional team members on proning team & how to manage the complicated dynamics of working with a large group of caregivers to complete this important task
• Identify possible methods for proning patients in the ICU
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different proning methods, including safety considerations and the equipment and staffing required