Smith & Nephew educational grant supports vital role of wound care nurses

Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN; LSE: SN), the global medical technology business, today announces a new educational relationship with the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN®). Through a restricted educational grant, Smith & Nephew is supporting Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) Nurse Week, which honours the care WOC nurses provide to millions of patients suffering from chronic wounds, ostomies and urinary and fecal incontinence.

“Every WOC nurse makes a significant difference in the lives of patients and their families by directing and providing compassionate care,” said Patricia Burns, a former WOC nurse and now Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Smith & Nephew. “The WOC nurse requires specialized clinical education to care for the unique needs of these patients. We want to raise awareness of this nursing specialty and the contributions it makes.”

There is an increasing prevalence of chronic wounds of all types that encumber patients and health care systems with significant personal and financial burdens. This creates increased demand for WOC nurses, especially as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) transition to value-based purchasing, prompting healthcare facilities to carefully implement best practices and employ specialists to prevent and manage patients’ wounds.

A key goal of WOC Nurse Week (April 13 to April 19) is increasing awareness of the pivotal role WOC nurses play in providing optimal patient care in multiple healthcare settings. These include inpatient, outpatient, long-term care and home health. WOC nurses must complete specialized education beyond basic nursing education, including hands-on clinical training and certification.  They share expert clinical skills, help control costs and ensure compliance while working toward improved patient care through positive outcomes, advocacy and the education of patients and families.

“Many chronic wound patients can be cured or at least see marked improvement with skilled treatment, and it’s critically important to continue to train and support WOC nurses to provide the necessary standard of care for these conditions,” said Burns.

To learn more about the vital role of WOC nurses, please visit http://www.wocn.org. 

Enquiries

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 11,000 employees and a presence in more than 90 countries. Annual sales in 2013 were more than $4.3 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).

For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our corporate website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com

Forward-looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith & Nephew, these factors include: economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting health care providers, payers and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions, our success in performing due diligence, valuing and integrating acquired businesses; disruption that may result from transactions or other changes we make in our business plans or organisation to adapt to market developments; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or reputational nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20-F, for a discussion of certain of these factors. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith & Nephew's expectations.

^◊ Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain marks registered US Patent and Trademark Office.