There are many wounds that will not heal without medical intervention beyond stitches and staples. Some wounds, like the ones that require skin grafts or maybe an internal infection, need the specialized help of the center.
And Kettering Health Hamilton has one of the best centers around, being nationally recognized on a near-annual basis for clinical excellence. Out of the past 10 years, they’ve earned that distinction nine times.
Christy Quincy, the center’s director, said if a person has a wound that does not or will not heal, and may require amputation, the mortality rate within the next five years of that removal is 50% higher.
Sonja Kranbuhl, director of the Fort Hamilton Hospital Foundation, said that statistic “is devastating.”
“If we can heal your wound, it’s not just healing your wound and giving your life back. It is genuinely saving your life. Literally,” she said, whose foundation’s annual fundraiser on Oct. 7 is supporting the center’s renovations.
Quincy said more than a generation ago, there were many more amputees in the community than there are today “with the advancement of wound centers.”
“It’s making an incredible difference,” she said.
As an example, she said one out of every four patients with diabetes over the next year will have a difficult-to-heal wound or a non-healing wound because of the disease.
“They risk infection, and they have a slower healing trajectory and a non-healing trajectory in some cases,” Quincy said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37 million Americans (which is about 1 in 10) have diabetes, and 1 in five people with diabetes do not know they have it.
The Center for Wound Healing at Kettering Health Hamilton is beginning to look into newer treatments for wound care.
Karen Armstrong, Clinical Nurse Manager in the wound care center, said there are some advancements, like with fish scales, are being used. She said the brand name of Keracis is a skin substitute and are “molecularly compatible with our skin.”
Quincy said it’s novel treatments like Keracis that “keep the staff and the doctors really excited because we couldn’t heal some wounds 10 years ago that we can today. And it’s still advancing.”
But the newer approaches complement the tried and true traditional treatments, such as hyperbaric chambers where patients are in a pressurized tube and “be” 70 feet below sea level breathing 100% pure oxygen.
Cynthia Benge, the hyperbaric safety director at Kettering Health Hamilton, said “It’s an amazing treatment.”
“It’s not just for one diagnosis. It treats several different things,” she said. “Most of the infections in our body that get in there don’t like oxygen, so when we’re able to make them feel small enough, as oxygen, they’re able to get into those areas of oxygen and eradicate any type of infection in there.”
Quincy said treatment goes beyond the actual therapies and surgeries. Treatment also includes dietary education, so “while they’re here, we try to educate the importance of nutrition.”
The Fort Hamilton Hospital Foundation is also partnering with Community First Solutions to provide rides for patients of the Center for Wound Healing with transportation issues. The pilot program is receiving funding through the Hamilton Community Foundation, and Kranbuhl said the team is seeking other funding sources to continue the program.
Kranbuhl said the center is more than just a section of the hospital for treatment. People develop a close connection with the those treating them, “and in the fast-paced world that is health care, having that connection to a team. The people that work there are saints.”
For those wanting to attend the Oct. 7 Ticket to Hollywood event can email Sonja.kranbuhl@ketteringhealth.com for more information as tickets are limited, though it will encompass the entirety of the Fitton Center in downtown Hamilton. DJ Christian is the entertainment for the evening, and people are encouraged to dress as their favorite pilot, wingman, astrophysicist, or in an ‘80s chic outfit.
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