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Houston nurse creates app to help nurses provide virtual wound care
In the fourth and final part of our Black history month series highlighting black-owned businesses throughout the Houston area. FOX 26’s Gabby Hart is shining a light on a local nurse who saw a problem within the home healthcare profession and came up with a service to solve it.
HOUSTON - In the fourth and final part of our Black history month series highlighting black-owned businesses throughout the Houston area. FOX 26’s Gabby Hart is shining a light on a local nurse who saw a problem within the home healthcare profession and came up with a service to solve it.
Once the pandemic started nurses became overwhelmed and started leaving hospitals for home-health care positions, but a longtime home health care nurse says many of them weren’t provided with appropriate resources when it comes to treating critical wounds.
Brianna Guillory is a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) whose been working in the healthcare field for more than 10-years, she’s spent several years doing home healthcare, and since COVID-19 hit she’s seen a major increase in the amount nurses moving to that sector.
"There's too many patients, not enough hospital beds and so there are nurses that are leaving the hospital," said Guillory.
She says before the pandemic nurses had to have 1-2 years of experience to enter home healthcare, but now with high demand and a nursing shortage she’s seen nurses accepted right out of nursing school.
"In-home health care we call it the wild wild west; it’s very different from being in a hospital," said Guillory.
As a result, she says she’s seen the consequences that come when home health nurses don’t have the appropriate skills or resources to properly treat patients with complicated wounds.
"We're talking pressure sores, ulcers we’re seeing a lot of post-surgical wounds," Guillory explained.
So Guillory came up with a way to make sure nurses are better equipped and that patients receive the proper care.
In the summer of 2021, Guillory launched her business called "Divine Healthcare Consultants" They specialize in virtual wound care consulting. She partnered with care pics to create an app that provides virtual wound care services for both the nurse and the patient. She's also working to partner with home health care and hospice agencies to put certified wound care specialists right in the palm of home health care workers' hands.
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"They'll be able to use that to capture the wound image and send that to our certified wound specialist, and we’re able to come up with a treatment plan for that patient’s wound," Guillory said.
They're able to monitor the progress and healing of the wound through updated images, allowing them to decide if the current treatment plan is working or if they need to change course.
"It also measures wounds, and if they need to schedule a virtual visit they can and that’s just if the wound is deteriorating if they need a little more one-on-one teaching," said Guillory.
She says making sure people’s wounds are healing correctly takes some strain off emergency rooms and hospitals.
"If we have a patient that has a wound that’s at home and if we can stop that patient from going to the ER then at that point, we’re reducing the hospitalization rate." She explained.
Guillory tells FOX 26 she doesn’t know of any other services like hers specializing in wound care, and as a black woman, she’s proud to be one of the first blazing this trail.
"You must be twice as hard, twice as ambitious just to be able to get there. Twice as resourceful just to show you’re capable of a seat at the table, but it’s just more motivation to keep pushing on." Guillory said.
Guillory says she’s also looking to hire new wound care specialists. If you'd like to learn more about job opportunities or about her wound care consulting services, click here https://divinehealthcarellc.com/