A pair of nurses at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville are being recognized for their groundbreaking work using their wound care skills to keep oxygenated blood flowing through the bodies of critically ill COVID-19 patients. The efforts of nurses Randy Brian and Cindy Westbrook became part of a research project funded by the UF College of Nursing. The nurses’ work drew attention for its success in reducing complications from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) devices, a form of life support that doctors began using more frequently during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brian and Westbrook are wound care specialists. Sometime in 2020, they were called when doctors and nurses noticed that patients’ skin around ECMO tubes was breaking down from bleeding, fluid buildup or infection. The two treated the failing ECMO sites with vacuum-assisted closure therapy, but they soon focused on preventing problems using special wound dressings and preparations. By the time the pandemic eased, they had helped more than 200 patients.