June 4-8 proclaimed Wound Care Awareness Week
The team at Wound Care Center at Medical Center of South Arkansas and Mayor Frank Hash are helping raise awareness of chronic wounds with an official proclamation marking June 4-8, 2018 as Wound Care Awareness Week.
Medical Center of South Arkansas Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center offers advanced therapies to patients suffering from chronic wounds. Program directors across the nation are dedicating the entire week to educating physicians, patients and the general public about the chronic wound epidemic and the advanced wound care solutions.
It is estimated that chronic wounds affect 6.7 million people in the country and the rate is rising, fueled by an aging population and increasing rates of diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity and the late effects of radiation therapy. If left untreated, chronic wounds can lead to diminished quality of life and possibly amputation of the affected limb.
“We see patients living with non-healing wounds for a prolonged amount of time due to the lack of awareness of advanced wound care options,” said Dr. Kenneth Prather, Wound Care Center Medical Director. “We work to educate community physicians about which of their patients can benefit from advanced wound care, and then provide coordinated care to heal that patient’s wounds.”
The Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center features a staff of trained physicians and nurses who develop treatment plans to optimize the healing of chronic, non-healing wounds.
Individualized treatment consists of diagnostic services and use of specialists such as nutritionists, therapists and surgeons. Advanced wound care dressings have far more benefits than some more traditional methods such as gauze and tape. Specialized dressings for more complicated wounds include antimicrobial, hydrocolloid dressings, hydrogel dressings and collagen dressings.
“We are here to help. We have the latest techniques and technologies including hyperbaric oxygen chambers and advanced wound dressing, yet the thing people seem to remember most is our genuine caring attitude,” said Margaret Holzem, director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center.
The Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center is located at 620 W. Grove St., Suite 301, Grove Medical Complex on the MCSA Campus at the corner of West Grove and Thompson in El Dorado. Visit woundcareawarenessweek.com or theMedCenter.net to learn more about Wound Care Awareness Week and to hear from patients about how wound healing changed their life.
To schedule an appointment, call 870-864-5490.