Painful, time-consuming, and expensive to treat, pressure ulcers are a common condition, affecting an estimated 3 million adults in the United States. Pressure ulcers can impede a patient's recovery to full function and places more time demands on nurses and the health care team. Hospital stays for patients with pressure ulcers are three times longer than those without pressure ulcers and the total cost of treatment in the U.S. is about $11 billion annually. Nurses Announcements Archive Article