Wound care center

A new center may mean successful healing for those with chronic or non-healing wounds in the Odessa area.

Odessa Regional Medical Center hosted an open house Monday to show off its new Wound Care Center on the west campus.

The Center offers a variety of treatments, including two hyperbaric chambers for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which delivers 100 percent oxygen under pressure to the cells of patients, stimulating the healing process and helping to control infection. Atmospheric pressure is increased up to three times the normal pressure inside the hyperbaric chamber.

"Having a specialized center is really important. While some other sites for hyperbaric therapy exist in the area, it’s good to have someone with the expertise to manage the wounds entirely," Wound Care Center Director Brian Kwiatkowski said.

Kellye Ulmer with Nurse’s Unlimited came to the open house to support ORMC. She said the home health company often refers people out for wound treatment, and it is especially a big problem as the number of diabetics increase in the country.

"They are more prone to serious wounds, and centers like this are needed because of the complexity of those wounds," she said.

Kwiatkowski said that diabetics are especially prone to foot ulcers, but the center can treat all kinds of wounds, such as radiation wounds, infected wounds or even bad skin grafts.

Healing wounds may involve hyperbaric therapy or other treatments like specialized dressings or other advanced treatments. For example, a specialized graft with a skin substitute substance could be used to treat diabetic foot ulcers that are slow to heal.

ORMC Community Relations Director Jacqui Gore said the center is an important extension of the traditional hospital care offered at the hospital.

"The need for this service is great. Lot of people need wound care," she said.

WOUNDS TREATED

Some of the kinds of wounds treated at the new center:

>> Diabetic foot ulcers.

>> Non-healing surgical wounds.

>> Radiation wounds.

>> Pressure ulcers.

>> Bad skin grafts.

>> Infected wounds.