Graduating as Champions

Evelyn Narvaez, wound care lead for inpatient care at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Healthcare (MLKCH) in South Los Angeles, wanted to offer education that would engage her staff and empower them to help prevent pressure injuries. But developing a training program can be stressful and time-consuming. Fortunately, as a Medline customer, Narvaez and MLKCH had access to the Skin Champion program that accompanies the Medline products MLKCH purchases.

Narvaez did much of the planning and teaching, tailoring modules to MLKCH-specific policies and processes, while mixing in her own icebreakers, games and group activities.

The fact that all 25 nurses started and completed the program was unusual, and it was a success Narvaez felt was worth celebrating. “They are now vital resources for our facility, and it was essential that the entire hospital community knows who they are and the valuable role they play,” Narvaez comments.

The celebration that Narvaez planned, organized and put on included printed invitations and a stage for graduates to receive certificates. Leaders from across the organization, along with the graduates’ families and friends, filled the audience.

MLKCH was drawn to the Skin Champion program’s instruction on the safe and effective use of Medline products, as well as the potential to help lower their HAPI rates, and they’ve seen positive results. “Most notably, we’ve seen a remarkable decrease in state-reportable HAPI cases at our hospital since the program concluded in April [2025],” says Sandra Temple, MLKCH’s senior director of nursing operations. “It’s so clear what we’re getting out of it.”