The Midwest Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Department at Midwest Regional Medical Center was honored May 16 with a Center of the Year award from Diversified Clinical Services, which partners with the hospital to operate the wound care facility. DCS is the largest and most established wound care management company in the nation.

The Midwest City clinic specializes in the treatment of chronic and non-healing wounds, such as those associated with diabetes patients.

With more than 300 wound care centers nationally, DCS officials presented Midwest Regional CEO Stan Holm and the center’s physicians and staff with the award May 16.

“Midwest Wound Care is one of four centers in the country and the only one in the Southwest to receive this honor for quality outcomes in 2010,” Jim Henry, vice chairman of the board of directors at DCS, said.

Wound care center program director Brad Crow said the statistics speak for themselves. In 2010, the wound care center had a 95 percent overall heal rate, patient satisfaction scores of 4.8 on a 5-point scale and a 28-day healing median for all patients.

Crow said the hospital and the clinic staff were elated about the Center of the Year award.

“We’re honored. It’s a privilege to be part of a great collaborative effort between the hospital and Diversified Clinical Services. Together, we are able to heal patients in our community, getting them back to living happy, healthy lives.”

EVOLVING CARE

Dr. Elaine Soter, the clinic’s medical director, said the wound care center has evolved since she arrived in 2001.

“Back then, we were a little clinic no one knew about,” she said. “We’ve gone from that little clinic that was physical therapy-oriented to physician-oriented with three hyperbaric chambers and we’ve grown from there.”

The clinic uses the hyperbaric chambers to help treat the wounds created from diabetes and other diseases. For about 10 to 20 percent of wound-care patients, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a valid option when other treatments fail.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment helps heal the wound from the inside out. By super-oxygenating the wounds, it reduces swelling, helps fight infection and encourages the growth of new blood vessels and finally produces healthier tissue. The treatment involves the delivery of oxygen through pressurized chambers where patients lie on their backs for up to two hours. According to one study, 94 percent of patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatment kept their limb 55 months after therapy.

Other treatment options include debridement, dressing selection, patient education and specialized footwear.

Almost 24 million Americans, or one in every 12, are diabetic, and the disease is causing widespread disability and death at an epidemic pace, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those with diabetes, 6.5 million are estimated to suffer with chronic or non-healing wounds. The most common outward complications of the disease are open ulcers and wounds on the feet and lower legs.

If the wounds cannot be healed, amputation is a last resort. Unfortunately, Oklahoma has one of the highest amputation rates in the country, Crow said.

Amputations often shorten a person’s life span. According to Crow, a person’s life expectancy is five years

after a non-traumatic amputation.

“A small wound on the foot of a diabetic patient can be an emergency,” he said. “Our goal is to heal the wound and keep the mobility going for that patient.”

One of Soter’s goals as clinic medical director is to formalize a limb salvage program to ensure amputation is the last option for a patient.

“Patients realize we’re dedicated to what their problem is. We’re dedicated to the problem wounds. That’s all we do. We’re their partner and giving them hope as their wound gets better,” she said.

Soter said another goal is to add a fourth chamber and increase the size of the clinic. Currently, the clinic handles about 60 patients a month. She said she wants to accommodate 75 to 80 patients a month.

tfarley@eastword.net

photo Diversified Clinical Services presents Wound Care Center Program Director Brad Crow with a plaque signifying the clinic’s top rating. photo/Tim Farley