Incontinence: It takes a Team; Categorizing Incontinence

Publication: Provider Magazine

Author: Amy Mendoza

Publisher: American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living

“Vetter Health Services, headquartered in Elkhorn, Neb., takes a restorative approach to bowel and bladder retraining. When new residents walk in the door, staff assess them for incontinence and take it a step further to determine the type of incontinence they have.

‘This can fall into one of four categories—stress, urge, transient, and functional,’ says Michelle Wallace, RN-BC, a certified registered rehabilitation nurse and clinical coordinator at Vetter. One of four clinical coordinators for Vetter, she has overseen operations regionally for the past six years and has a self-described passion for restorative care.”

Stress: Incontinence related to the weakening of the muscle structure. Sneezing, coughing, standing up, any kind of movement can cause a leakage.

Urge: Incontinence brought on by irritation of the urinary system. Stimulants come into play, and serious urgency is related to it. When a resident needs to go, they need to go immediately. 

Transient: Incontinence of a reversable type. The resident may have a urinary tract infection, or they are on a type of medication, something that is typically reversible. Once the particular issue is addressed, continence is restored.

Functional: Incontinence related to a functional limitation either with the resident’s ability to move or things in their environment that functionally inhibit them from being continent.

Mixed: Incontinence that could be a combination of any of the four types.”

Full text: https://www.providermagazine.com/Monthly-Issue/2019/November/Pages/Incontinence-It-takes-a-Team.aspx

“Incontinence: It takes a Team”; Provider Magazine, COPYRIGHT 2019.