MDNews - Mid Hudson

Cover Feature Healing Wounds By michael Ferguson at health Quest the Wound Care and hyperbaric therapy Center team at northern Dutchess hospital C REATiNg A mORE extensive and accessible network of wound care services, Health Quest launched the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy Center at Northern Dutchess Hospital in January 2013. The new center is the third facility in a wound care network that already includes locations at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Putnam Hospital Center. Patients seeking resolution of chronic or acute wounds may find relief from specialists at any wound care center across the system, each of which boasts state-of-the-art technologies and innovative treatment plans, negating the need for travel to larger cities in the pursuit of appropriate care. Jeffrey Hatter, MD, FACS, Medical Director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy Center at Northern Dutchess Hospital, explains that third-party independent research indicated there was a need to provide this service to the community in the Northern Dutchess Hospital service area. "Whether because of lack of education or not wanting to travel far for treatment, multitudes of patients with chronic wounds weren't being treated," Dr. Hatter says. "The research indicated that many patients in the area would benefit from a new wound care center. So we built one." 6 | Mid Hudson MD News ■ mDNEWS.COm Health Quest estimates that by the end of 2013, more than 300 patients with chronic or acute wounds will have entered the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy Center at Northern Dutchess Hospital. This number will increase annually, largely because the most commonly treated wounds arise from the growing population of patients with diabetes. Chronic, diabetes-related wounds in the lower extremities originate from a complex disease process requiring multidisciplinary care to be effectively controlled. Patients with these types of wounds exemplify the multifaceted utility of treatment capabilities offered at the wound center. The spectrum of therapies available — including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) systems, antibiotics and specialized topical products — not only address the wounds from the outside, but also stimulate the body's natural healing response and encourage wound closure. A Common, Complex Condition Nearly 19 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, and that number is growing. In 2010, 1.9 million people nationwide — only 300,000 less than the total Mid Hudson Valley's population — older than 20 were diagnosed with the disease. In addition to potentially having one or more of the many, sometimes-fatal PhOtOs © DOn DEmPsEy, WhitE Light PhOtOgRaPhy Physicians within the health Quest system Provide innovative, multidisciPlinary treatment Plans to close acute and chronic wounds and Prevent amPutation.

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