One Simple Choice. It’s really as simple as that. At least that’s what Angela thought after waking up out of the deep fog of despair and hopelessness she was in. The doctor had diagnosed her with a rare neuromuscular disease and told her to go home and prepare for it to take her life. She tried diligently to figure out how to die gracefully, crying each morning upon rising and falling asleep in the same manner. But nothing in her being wanted to make this choice. And as simple as a light switch flicking on, she made up her mind. She would fight to live. That’s where the story of perseverance begins . . .

In this powerful keynote speech Angela will pull at your heartstrings and have you laughing in the next breath. She believes we all have the ability to live well, to make choices that support us in health and happiness, and achieve all that we desire in this life.

This session presents Dr. Bill Hettler's Six Dimensions of Wellness Model. The aim of the presentation is to provide a conceptual basis for wellness and self-care. Interventions are discussed that focus on nonpharmacological approaches to self-care that can also be used in direct patient care to provide your patients alternatives to pharmaceutical medications and provide you with tools for self-management of emotional and physical ailments. This presentation conceptually distinguishes between health and wellness; which are overlapping but distinct and measurable characteristics of individuals and groups, with health being the absence of disease, and wellness being the conditions that support health and reduce risk of disease. Health can in a sense be viewed as a series of dichotomous variables that describe functionality of body and mind, while wellness is more accurately viewed on a continuum, and inclusive of physical and non-physical domains of self. The second component of this session will focus on the immune system, the lymphatic system and women’s health. This portion will be presented by Nancy Nathenson, RRT.

Chaucer said; “Time Heals all Wounds”. Wound healers know this is far from the truth. In our day to day work, it is not the Stage 2 pressure injuries or partial thickness skin tears, but rather the unusual, atypical and complex wounds that occupy the majority of our thoughts and energies. This session will present, in a case-based format, some rational strategies for sorting out the complex cases we face.

Further understand the different surgical options we have in our armamentarium and how it impacts in the patients QOL.

The incidence range of fecal incontinence in acute care settings has been reported as 17%-33%. Patients with fecal incontinence commonly report anxiety, shame and embarrassment over the condition. Their families and significant others become distressed over odor and the obvious discomfort of their loved one. Caring for acutely or critically ill patients with fecal incontinence consumes substantial caregiver time and cost related to linen, laundry, absorptive and containment products and skin care products. In addition to patient and family dissatisfaction, adverse outcomes associated with fecal incontinence include spread of pathogens, infection, increased length of stay, falls, and pressure injuries. WOC nurses are uniquely qualified to improve outcomes for this patient population by initiate interventions aimed at skin protection, containment and management of modifiable factors related to FI.

Presented by Mölnlycke Health Care

Learn how a solo-practice Wound Care leader used available data to win top-quality wound care products onto her formulary rather than tolerate what was on the shelf but coming off her patients.Learn how a solo-practice Wound Care leader used available data to win top-quality wound care products onto her formulary rather than tolerate what was on the shelf but coming off her patients.

Presented by 11Health & Technologies Inc.

IBD and Stoma patients across the nation deserve access the market's most comprehensive patient-centered platform to track their health at home. In this video, you will meet members from our Nurse & Clinical teams who will demonstrate how 11 Health's Patient Coach program, paired with SmartCare can help increase the efficiency of nurses, treat patients remotely, and decrease hospital readmission rates for your high-risk patient population.

Supported by 3M + KCI

Climate change, how are you adapting during times of uncertainty? Reimagine a new today in a virtual/technical existence with resources at the click of a keyboard and communication via telemedicine keeping the patient at the forefront. Please join this session which will focus on the patient, their wounds, and today's healthcare environment and the impacts on wound management across the care continuum. The session will include the following solutions; Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with instillation (NPWTi), Advanced Wound Dressings, and Mechanically Powered Disposable NPWT (dNPWT) related to wound etiology and characteristics utilizing a case-based approach.

Supported by 3M + KCI

This symposium will feature updates from experts in the areas of IAD, MARSI and MDRPI. After hearing about the latest in the literature, the recipient of the 2020 3M Safe Skin Award will be introduced and will share the elements of the program that made them a clear choice for this year's award. Join us to ensure you are up-to-date and be inspired by a sustained QI project that has dramatically improved patient outcomes in a challenging population.

Supported by Coloplast Corp.

Ostomy care is ever evolving and is often shaped by the best practices WOC Nurses learn from one another. Join us for an interactive panel discussion with input from you, the audience, as we explore hot topics in ostomy care such as managing peristomal ulcers, patient education and discharge protocol best practices, experiences of using convexity in the post-op period, and more.

Janice Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN, will moderate the discussion featuring a panel of fellow WOC Nurses sharing their insights, experience and best practices on each topic, as we invite the audience to participate and share their (your!) unique perspectives.