Delta Regional Medical Center

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Delta Regional Medical Center celebrates 10th anniversary of offering Hyperbaric Treatment

Greenville MS – Everyone has heard that time heals all wounds, but the truth is that without advanced therapies, some wounds can take years and even decades to heal while others that do not respond to treatment may lead to amputation in extreme cases. In June of 1998 Delta Regional Medical Center opened the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers, to offer the community state-of-the-art specialized wound healing care. On June 20, 2008 the facility celebrated a 10th anniversary open. The public was invited to the celebration, which included tours, door prizes, health information, free wound assessments, and refreshments. Over 100 guests attended.

 

"With the highest per capita incidence of diabetes in the US, there was a great need for a specialized hyperbaric care center that could treat the ulcers associated with the disease as well as help patients with other skin, bone and tissue conditions caused by illness or injury," stated L. Ray Humphreys, FACHE, CEO of Delta Regional Medical Center. “The Wound Healing Center at Delta Regional Medical Center is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art wound care to our patients and this community. I am proud of the excellent work done by our physicians, clinical teams and management at the Center, and we will continue to take a leadership role in advancing and delivering wound care for many years to come.”

 

The Would Healing Center’s doctors and clinical staff are skilled in the latest therapeutic methods in wound management and stay abreast of cutting-edge information through continuous training, according to Lisa Zepponi, Director of The Wound Healing Center. 

"We developed a methodology that has established an impressive record of healing wounds that others thought hopeless. Our treatments are evidence based and best practice driven meaning our patients do not undergo any treatment or progress to a new level of treatment until the need is clearly indicated,” adds Zepponi.

 

Likely candidates for treatment are those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven’t healed within 30 days. The center’s hyperbaric oxygen chambers can also be used to treat patients suffering from such uncommon ailments as cyanide poisoning, gangrene, carbon monoxide poisoning, necrotizing infections (such as infected brown recluse spider bites) and the “bends,” or decompression sickness.

 

One of the highly specialized treatments offered at the center is hyperbaric oxygen therapy which works by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s blood and, in the case of wounds, allows red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it from the inside out. Diabetic foot wounds are an excellent example of wounds that may benefit most from this type of treatment.

 

Relaxing on a bed encased within a large see-through plastic shell, patients can watch movies on televisions mounted above the chamber while hearing the movies and conversing with others outside the chamber through a speaker system. The only physical sensation resulting from the treatment is a slight pressure on the eardrum, such as that felt when a plane lands or diving into deep water, as the air in the chamber is compressed. Local physicians licensed to provide Hyperbaric Medicine treatments include Dr. Alan Billsby, Dr. Parvez Karim, Dr. Willie B. Lucas, Dr. William F. Richards, Dr. Satwinder Singh, and Dr. James C. Wright.

 

In addition to tissue oxygenation, The Wound Healing Center also employs the use of vascular studies, tissue culturing and pathology, revascularization, utilization of biological tissues, and clinical or surgical debridement.

 

"We become a partner in the patient’s medical care," said Dr. Parvez Karim, who serves as medical director at the center. "While we dedicate our efforts to healing the patient’s wound, the primary care physician is free to focus on treating the underlying cause or disease. Through regular reports, we work with the patient’s doctors and other experts in the program to develop a total approach to treatment and care."

 

For more information call The Wound Healing Center located at the West Campus of Delta Regional Medical Center, 300 South Washington Avenue, 662-725-7606.

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