In celebrating the 20th anniversary of WoundSource, we would like to acknowledge the support of our readership. The WoundSource Reader Profile Series shares the stories behind our readers and how WoundSource currently impacts their wound care practices.

Martin D. Vera, LVN, CWS

Coordinator of Wound Management at Patience Home Health Care

Martin D. Vera, LVN, CWS is the Coordinator of Wound Management at Patience Home Health Care in San Antonio, Texas. He has been working in the wound care field for nearly 20 years, helping countless patients, teaching wound care best practices, and improving standards at his care facility. His career has demonstrated an extraordinary passion for patient care, a commitment to doing the right thing, and a strong faith.

Doing What He Loves Every Day

Martin feels incredibly lucky to do what he loves every day: help patients get the best quality of care. Although he loves every part of his job, he does struggle when he sees patients go through unnecessary pain due to noncompliance. In many cases, simply having the right knowledge could make the difference between rapid healing and a long painful process. Although the war is never ending, he feels that there are still many battles to be won in the quest to educate patients and professionals about wound care.

Martin's days consist of teaching staff on best practices, conducting evidenced-based research, and optimizing cost effectiveness in order to achieve positive outcomes. He also works to identify barriers to healing with the assistance of SWAT (skin wound assessment team), and provide the tools necessary for other healthcare workers to be successful. He believes the key to wound care is regular and open communication with the MD, nurses, CNA, PCT, therapists, and all who come in contact with the patient, especially the family.

Why Martin Reads WoundSource

Martin has been reading WoundSource for over 10 years, using it to educate himself on research, industry issues, and the benefits and cost effectiveness of new products. He values its insights into the wound care industry and its mission of educating healthcare professionals about wound care products, innovations, and best practices.

Although wound care is a passion for Martin, he recognizes the reality that it is also a business. That's why he must find ways to increase cost effectiveness, while at the same time being able to administer the best care possible. WoundSource allows Martin to learn about manufacturers that make the products he needs, and also assess their quality and cost effectiveness. He feels the annual print edition of the WoundSource product reference guide should be in every wound clinician's arsenal of information. Not only does he subscribe to receive a copy for himself every year, he has his materials manager order one for herself as well—because he feels the information is invaluable.

A Dedication to Sharing Knowledge

Martin believes that sharing knowledge is one of the most important duties of healthcare professionals. That's why, in addition to reading WoundSource and accessing its online resources, Martin is also a WoundSource contributor. He writes a regular blog for the WoundSource.com about wound management and how to improve patient outcomes, with recent articles including “Identifying, Managing, and Breaking Barriers That Affect Wound Healing” and “Wound Bed Preparation and Beyond.” You can read more of his work at http://www.woundsource.com/blogs/martin-vera.

If you are interested in sharing your story with WoundSource, we would love to hear from you! CLICK HERE to contact us.