South Georgia Medical Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce on June 28 to celebrate its new partnership with Healogics and the subsequent enhancement of SGMC Wound Care and Hyperbarics.
SGMC partnered with Healogics, the nation’s leading provider of advanced, chronic wound care services to enhance the treatment options available for people living with chronic, non-healing wounds.
According to SGMC Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer Randy Smith, “It is very clear that patients in our area can benefit from the advanced therapy and we are proud to be able to offer it. Wound care is something that many people don’t consider until they have a wound that is not healing right. Our center will give patients comfort that their wounds are going to heal properly reducing their risk of a more serious wound problem.”
It is estimated that chronic wounds affect 6.7 million people in the U.S. and that number is rising, fueled by an aging population and increasing rates of 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.
Part of the new advanced therapy includes Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) which speeds up healing of carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, stubborn wounds, and infections in which tissues are starved for oxygen. HBOT is administered via one of two hyperbaric chambers available at the center. The chambers allow patients to breathe in pure oxygen in air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average, filling the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissues. Patients who are not responding to traditional treatments or experiencing radiation wounds from cancer treatments, traumatic or surgical injuries, and carbon monoxide poisoning may qualify for HBOT.
Danna Simpson, Program Director, states, “Having Hyperbaric Therapy here in our community offers patients an opportunity for treatment that can do more than heal their stubborn wounds, it can save their life.”
SGMC Wound Care and Hyperbarics is located at 2330 N. Ashley Street in Valdosta. Healogics is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and has a nationwide network of over 600 Wound Care Centers®. For more information visit sgmc.org.
