[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1133 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1133
Expressing support for the designation of the third Thursday in
November as ``National Pressure Ulcer/Injury Prevention Day'' and
promoting enhanced care coordination and prevention resources to reduce
the development of pressure ulcers/injuries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 26, 2018
Mr. Emmer (for himself, Mrs. Handel, Mr. Woodall, and Mr. Poliquin)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of the third Thursday in
November as ``National Pressure Ulcer/Injury Prevention Day'' and
promoting enhanced care coordination and prevention resources to reduce
the development of pressure ulcers/injuries.
Whereas hospital-acquired pressure ulcers/injuries are a significant problem
that cause harm in terms of morbidity, mortality, and cost for Americans
covered through Medicare or Medicaid, those covered by private
commercial health insurance, and the uninsured;
Whereas the prevalence and impact of pressure ulcers/injuries and their
associated complications and expenses kill over 60,000 patients per year
while impacting over 2,000,000 Americans;
Whereas these complications cost the United States at least $9,000,000,000 to
$11,000,000,000 per year based on data from the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, and economists project that this issue could surpass
$25,000,000,000 by 2020;
Whereas the physiologic process describing pressure ulcer/injury formation is
not completely understood, and there are multiple factors that
contribute to their development including decreased mobility, moisture,
nutrition deficits, friction, obstructed lymph flow, dehydration, and
impaired tissue perfusion;
Whereas these complications may be indicative of the end of life or organ
failure;
Whereas pressure ulcers/injuries may develop despite the caregiver's diligent
use of currently known and accessible prevention methods;
Whereas there is adequate evidence that multiple factors are involved in the
formation of a pressure ulcer/injury that require additional research to
effectively understand the protocols necessary to relieve the pressure
ulcer/injury burden to the patient, health care provider, and
government;
Whereas information provided by the CMS Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics
in October 2017 identified that hospital-acquired pressure ulcer/injury
incidence rates have increased by 58.4 percent between the first quarter
of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017;
Whereas the data demonstrate a need to work together to determine how we can
improve our Nation's health care outcomes by reducing the occurrence of
pressure ulcers/injuries and their significant morbidity and mortality
consequences;
Whereas the term ``pressure ulcer'' has been widely known as pressure injury,
decubitus ulcer, bedsore, pressure induced skin damage, skin failure,
and pressure sore;
Whereas there are approximately 17,000 additional lawsuits each year as a result
of pressure ulcers/injuries;
Whereas pressure ulcers/injuries are one of the five most prevalent harms
experienced by patients;
Whereas in long-term acute care settings, 28.2 percent of patients have pressure
ulcers/injuries;
Whereas in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, approximately 11 percent of
patients have documented pressure ulcers/injuries;
Whereas for hospital settings, 4.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries develop
hospital-acquired pressure ulcers/injuries;
Whereas more than \1/3\ of veterans with a spinal cord injury report pressure
ulcers/injuries each year, and those veterans face more than $70,000 in
inpatient costs compared to those without;
Whereas patients with hospital-acquired pressure ulcers/injuries increase their
length of stay from 4.9 to 11.6 days, adding additional health care
costs;
Whereas these patients are more likely to be discharged to an extended care
facility rather than home, and readmitted to a hospital;
Whereas the pathology of pressure ulcer/injury formation indicates multiple
contributing factors; and
Whereas effecting positive change in the prevention and management of patients
will require multiple areas of focus including the public, patients,
health care professionals, providers, and government: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) affirms that pressure ulcers/injuries and their
resulting costs in human suffering and strain on the health
care system require a coordinated and systemic plan to address;
(2) supports the designation of ``National Pressure Ulcer/
Injury Prevention Day'';
(3) encourages the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to review current pressure ulcer/
injury prevention and management protocols and develop a plan
to use peer-reviewed science to test, revise, and continually
reduce pressure ulcer/injury development;
(4) encourages the Secretary of HHS to host a Federal
interagency conference with academia, industry stakeholders,
health care providers, community caregivers, patients,
families, patient and veteran advocacy groups, and other
stakeholders to publicly review and discuss the state of
pressure ulcer/injury prevention research, protocols, scope and
magnitude of the problem, and related topics each year;
(5) encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) to review its authorities and programs to reduce pressure
ulcers/injuries, including focus on early detection and
prevention; and
(6) encourages HHS to coordinate with the Department of
Veterans Affairs and State health agencies and boards to
deliver best practices on the prevention and reduction of
pressure injury/ulcer rates.
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