Wound Care Institute offers faster, innovative care

The Wound Care Institute at St. Francis will be among the first hospital departments to transition from its Beech Grove current location to the new Indianapolis campus patient tower.

The move will take place in March 2011, just in time for the grand opening, to the first floor of the tower. Since 1998, Beech Grove has been home to the Wound Care Institute. A second location opened in Mooresville in 2009.

What changes will you notice during the Wound Care Institute grand opening? You’ll see more patient rooms and advanced technology, including a second hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The first chamber was obtained by St. Francis in August 2009.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the breathing of pressurized oxygen and has been shown to optimize healing, particularly for those at risk of losing a limb. The chamber compresses the molecules in the air and allows the compressed oxygen to enter small blood vessels and tissue it would not normally be able to penetrate. This increases the healing process, blood flow and the chances of saving a limb. It also helps alleviate pain.

HBOT usually lasts 90 minutes per treatment, and patients come to the Wound Care Institute five days a week for six weeks to receive treatment. HBOT treatments are optimal for patients with complicated wounds such as diabetic ulcers, post-surgical foot wounds, bone infection and treatment-radiated bed wounds..

Adding the second hyperbaric chamber offers patients faster service and more flexibility with their treatment regimens. It is just one of the many treatment options used to accelerate wound healing available at St. Francis.

“We are excited about our new, centralized location and user-friendly space,” said Amira Kehoe, manager of the Wound Care Institute and Enterostomal Therapy. “Patient care is our highest priority, and these new features will give our patients the opportunity to experience healing in a new way.”