Building a System of Experts: How VNA Health Group Transformed Wound Care

As patient acuity increased, VNA Health Group faced a growing gap between the complexity of wounds treated and the level of wound care expertise available across its workforce. They wanted to expand and integrate resources across all teams while empowering staff through education and certification to increase confidence and expertise in wound care.

“We have excellent clinicians,” said Susan Giglia, MSN, RN, WCC, COS-C, Director of Clinical Education and Employee Health, VNA Health Group. “But we needed a way to strengthen wound care knowledge across the organization.”

The challenges were clear:
• Care treatments rapidly advancing, creating challenges to stay current in real time
• Inconsistent confidence among clinicians managing advanced wounds

VNA Health Group needed a way to expand expertise across roles (field nurses, leaders, preceptors, and providers) while maintaining consistency through evidence-based practices and quality of care.

A personal story sparks real change

The catalyst came from the community. A donor, inspired by her personal experience with her mother’s home wound care, funded the first cohort of wound care certifications in spring 2025. “We really wanted the donor to know how much we appreciated her dedication to our
development,” Giglia shared. “That generosity became the spark for everything that followed.”

The success of the first funded cohort inspired the donor to support a second, transforming what began as a single effort into a broader strategic initiative to elevate wound care across the organization.

Partnering with Relias to build scalable expertise

To support this vision, VNA Health Group partnered with Relias to deliver a structured, scalable certification pathway through the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) Skin and Wound Management courses. They selected WCEI’s program due to its nationally recognized curriculum, hands-on instruction, and the ability to support multidisciplinary cohorts.

From a centralized specialist team to organization-wide confidence

The impact was immediate. More than 50 clinicians earned WCC credentials, achieving a pass rate of over 90% for the spring cohort alone.
VNA Health Group’s certified clinicians can now better support complex wound cases, strengthen collaboration, and reduce reliance on a small specialist team.

“Now our WCCs are resources on the team to assist with complex wound care,” said Giglia. “That’s where we’ll really see the difference.”

In one year, the organization reduced preventable rehospitalizations for wound patients by 2.1% and saw a 2% average improvement across core patient outcomes. Equally important was the confidence clinicians gained. “The class gave them the foundation,” Giglia explained, “but now we’re focused on helping them apply what they learned into real treatment recommendations.”

Turning certification into sustained practice

The partnership with WCEI helped VNA Health Group go beyond certification to build a sustainable wound care education program. Drawing directly from the WCC curriculum, the organization launched a CE-accredited internal wound care orientation to ensure all nurses, certified or not, have a strong baseline understanding of wound care. VNA Health Group also introduced a quarterly WCC learning series to support continued professional development.

“We were able to develop a more robust wound class for our orientation and existing staff and provide them with CEs on foundational wound care,” said Giglia. “That came directly from the training.”

Enhancing care quality while attracting and retaining top talent

Wound care certification has also become a powerful workforce strategy. Advanced credentials are highly valued by clinicians, and the opportunity to specialize signals VNA Health Group’s commitment to professional growth.

As one newly certified clinician said, “I believe becoming WCC has made me a more resourceful advocate for my patients. I plan to utilize the education provided from the class…while performing quality assessments moving forward to better the lives of those I nurse. Thank you so much for the honor and privilege to have been chosen to sit for the exam!”

By investing in scalable, advanced education, VNA Health Group transformed wound care into a shared organizational strength — improving patient care and positioning itself as an employer that supports career advancement, attracting nurses who want to specialize in wound care, and retaining those looking to advance their clinical careers.