Paoli Hospital Wound Center Expansion Includes Hyperbaric Chamber for Larger Patients

(PAOLI, PA; May, 2008) -- The Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine Center at Paoli Hospital added a second hyperbaric chamber, doubling its capacity to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat tissue damage and wounds that do not respond to traditional techniques.

The second chamber is part of an expansion project according to Program Director Kathy Gilchrist, RN, CWCN: "By renovating the Would Healing Center, we increased our flexibility to offer hyperbaric therapy to more members of the community who need the treatment."

The new BARA-MED® XD Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber accommodates patients weighing up to 700 pounds. "We acquired a larger chamber and a specially designed lift for the new chamber that allows us to lift obese or immobile patients onto the chamber gurney," said Ms. Gilchrist. It is of special note that patients needing wound care services are often in wheelchairs and/or unable to ambulate on their own.  "More than 50 percent of patients treated at the center require wheelchairs and assistance," she adds.

During hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the pressurized chamber the patient breathes 100% oxygen at two to three times the normal atmospheric pressure. As a result, the blood carries larger amounts of oxygen to organs and tissues in the body, promoting quicker wound healing. The therapy is usually administered two hours a day, five days a week for up to two months.

"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has the potential to save limbs by increasing tissue oxygenation, promoting new tissue growth, and assisting in fighting infection," said Ms. Gilchrist. Several large randomized trials have proven that hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces the number of patients that require a below-the-knee or smaller amputation by 30 to 50 percent.

Ms. Gilchrist said approximately two-thirds of patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the center have a diagnosis of the second chamber to a decline in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. Other conditions being treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the Center are diabetic wounds, failing skin grafts/flaps and chronic refractory osteomyelitis ( bone infection).

The center previously treated four patients a day. The addition of a second chamber  provides treatment for up to eight patients a day.  The center's first chamber, the BARA-MED® Clinical Acrylic Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber, was installed in 2004.

With the addition of the second chamber and the expansion of the Wound Healing Center's space, Ms. Gilchrist notes that the center, which originally opened in 1993, offers patients a comprehensive program to meet all their wound-care needs comfortably and conveniently.
"Healing chronic wounds requires a systematic team approach, with the expertise, equipment, facilities, and time to devote to the patient," she said. Hyperbaric oxygen is used in conjunction with a total wound-care program that includes the collaborative efforts of dedicated physicians and nursing staff to select the best course of treatment.

For information about hyperbaric oxygen therapy at The Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine Center at Paoli Hospital, contact Kathy Gilchrist at 610-648-1419 or the Hyperbaric Medicine Department at 610-240-4517.

Published:4-22-2008