With state-of-the-art equipment and specialized care, Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Pella Regional opened one year ago to take a leading role battling a growing health care crisis.

Chronic wounds affect approximately 6.7 million people in the US and the number is expected to increase by two percent annually over the next decade. The rising incidence of chronic wounds can also be correlated to obesity, vascular disease, an aging population and radiation treatment side-effects which are often underlying causes.

“I am very proud of our team here at Pella Regional Health Center, said Lesa Maring, Director of Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Pella Regional. “The culture at Pella Regional allows for our team to live the mission of serving patients with Christian compassion. Our team helps improve the quality of patient’s lives every day. I look forward to the coming year and the future patients we will be able to heal.”

Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Pella Regional provided specialized care for more than 222 patients in the past year. The advanced treatments available at the center include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure wound therapy, bio-engineered skin substitutes, biological and biosynthetic dressings and growth factor therapies.

Another advanced therapy offered is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. During the non-invasive procedure, patients receive treatment relaxing on a bed incased in a large see-through plastic shell as they are surrounded by 100 percent oxygen. Hyperbaric oxygen medicine may be used to treat wounds related to more than a dozen conditions including diabetic foot ulcers, gangrene, radiation injury, and skin injuries and infections.

In its first year, Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Pella Regional Health Center has seen great success in healing wounds for patients throughout the area.

Patients heal faster than an average wound care center with a median days to heal rate of 21. Since the center opening, twelve hyperbaric oxygen therapy patients have utilized the chamber totaling 333 treatments. Other numbers include:

• Wound care encounters (each time a patient is seen): 2099
• New wound care patients: 222
• Hyperbaric oxygen treatments: 333
• Average healing rate: 97%

For more information on the treatment of chronic wounds, contact Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Pella Regional at 641-628-6615.