Our Work

A major initiative for WoundPedia Education Foundation is to help facilitate the distribution of Skin and Wound Toolkits. The cost for 1 toolkit = $1200 CAD.

These toolkits help healthcare professionals acquire skin and wound care skills, through virtual skills training videos and educational sessions, to treat patients with lower limb disorders, especially diabetic foot ulcers. The toolkits not only help in decreasing amputation rates (as most are preventable) but also improve the efficiency of the health care system at a lower cost.

The contents of the Skin and Wound Toolkit facilitates the VIPs, a recommended approach to management of lower limb disorders, especially diabetic foot ulcers:

Vascular/blood supply – adequate blood supply is needed for a wound to heal. The audible handheld Doppler is a simple, portable tool that can help determine the blood supply by the sound of the waveform. Practitioners can listen to the sound to determine if the blood supply is adequate, and can also record the sound on their phone or send it to a specialist to help them determine the sound.This prevents unnecessary and costly referrals and fly outs for patients that can be treated in their own commiunities, especially with adequate blood suply to heal.

Infection – when a wound is infected, healing is delayed and the patient can become very unwell. It is important to recognize when a wound is infected and treat it accordingly. The infrared thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the skin around the wound. If there is an increase in temperature when compared to the other side, this can indicate that there is infection and further measures need to be taken.

Plantar pressure redistribution – for a diabetic foot ulcer to heal, pressure needs to be removed from the wounded area. Using specialized footwear (e.g. all purpose boot) and materials (e.g. poron/platazote), pressure can be redistributed or taken away from the wound. This will allow it to heal appropriately.

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If you wish to help us distribute more of these kits to those who need them then consider donating to the Foundation. An information sheet on the toolkit can be downloaded here.