Cath Lab Digest

  As far as I can determine from our office library, Ostomy Management, the precursor to Ostomy Wound Management, debuted in the late 1970s to address only issues relevant to ostomy care. Early copies feature mostly black-and-white text and figures (the latter frequently drawings as opposed to photographs) — the use of color reserved for advertisements. Thirty-two pages or so were saddle-stitched (ie, stapled) together. The early author and advertiser names are only somewhat familiar now, but among them was Evonne Fowler, who in one of the early issues provided insights into urinary incontinence, already a bit of a stretch away from strictly ostomy concerns. Letters to and from the Editor in the Fall 1980 issue demonstrated support and appreciation for the information it provided, but Ostomy Management ceased publication in December 1982. Was the niche too small? Were advertising dollars dwindling?

  The publication was resurrected and expanded in June 1985, when Health Management Publications, Inc., under the direction of Harry Hurley and Pat Scullin, reintroduced Ostomy/Wound Management (we’ve since, among numerous other changes, dropped the backslash). The journal now would address additional disciplines to reflect the ever-evolving responsibilities of enterostomal therapists and other practitioners who provided ostomy, skin, and incontinence care. Those early issues of OWM were still stapled together and contained little color and lots of drawings, but photographs became increasingly common and several advertisers and authors/OWM Board members (among them Nancy Faller and Manny Rothstein) familiar to us today were well on their way to establishing themselves as fixtures in this arena.

  I write this because after 25 years of publication, I wonder how much OWM has really changed … and whether it should. I am not a fan of change for change’s sake — If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it (that does not apply to re-doing the kitchen, however, as I have recently reminded my husband). Healthcare has been revolutionized (or has it?) by innovations and observations that improve care and payment/reimbursement policies that one can only hope are intended to ensure more folks have access to care. We strive to keep diligent readers/clinicians abreast of these product and practice developments. OWM is published entirely in full color, perfect-bound; minimum page count is 48. I am somewhat in awe of the fact that OWM pre-dates negative pressure wound therapy. The journal has witnessed the resurgence of honey and silver for healing but most importantly, it has helped proliferate wound care’s journey (albeit slow) from a sort of stepchild discipline to full-fledged specialty.

  But I am equally as entertained that the wet-to-dry/moist gauze debate has been raging for as long as OWM has been around. I am frustrated/reassured that articles we’ve published through my 10+ years with this journal continue to underscore that often, despite best practices and “advanced wound care products,” wound, ostomy, and continence management demands consideration of very human and often far-from-glamorous care that our readers seem only too happy to provide.

  So yes, we continually look to improve our internal processes. We are constantly assessing and streamlining our submission/review mechanisms. We are increasing our web and social network presence so you know what is happening not only at OWM, but also in the entire wound et al world. But in the end, these improvements and modifications don’t change our mission and the recognition for/satisfaction of providing information, basically on the same concerns reflected in its earliest issues: fistula management, turning schedules, impotence in male ostomy patients, nutrition for healing. Probably, persons new to the field would still find value in the glossary of dermal ulcer terms published in the summer of 1985.

  The provider niche is still relatively small (compared to other specialties); the advertising dollars (especially in this economy) are dwindling. Yet here we are, 25 years young, friended, tweeted about, and linked to help you face the next wound, ostomy, continence care challenge. As Corinne Bailey Rae sings, The more things change, the more they stay the same.