Sacred Heart Hospital cuts ribbon on wound healing center

LAVONIA, Ga. – St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital celebrated the expansion of its Wound Healing Center with a ribbon-cutting on Dec. 10 in front of the center’s two new, state-of-the-art hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

“Our center combines leading-edge technology with the expertise, compassion, and professionalism of our staff and physicians to help patients heal chronic, potentially life-threatening wounds,” said Crystal Wise, program director. “We truly provide high-level care with higher-level caring.”

St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital Center for Wound Healing is a member of the Healogics network of over 600 wound care centers and offers highly specialized wound care to patients suffering from diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, and other chronic wounds.

“Our wound care experts provide a wide range of advanced types of care, including negative-pressure wound therapy, total contact casting, bio-engineered tissues, biosynthetic dressings, and growth factor therapies,” Wise said. “We also offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which works by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen at up to three times normal atmospheric pressure to help accelerate wound healing.”

Stonish Pierce, President and CEO of Trinity Health Georgia, which includes St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital, noted the versatility of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO).

“HBO was developed to help divers recover from the bends but has been found to be effective with a wide range of other conditions, too, including wounds resulting from burns, blunt-force trauma, diabetic ulcers, skin and bone infections, and more,” he said.

“We have offered wound healing services in Athens since 2012 and are proud to expand these life-saving and life-improving services to Sacred Heart Hospital and the community it serves,” Pierce noted. “The center we celebrate today here in Lavonia has the same advanced services and technology as our highly successful center in Athens.”

According to Healogics, chronic wounds affect about 1 in 4 families nationwide. Without effective treatment, these difficult-to-heal wounds can lead to devastating outcomes, including reduced quality of life, amputations, and death.

“The creation and growth of our Center for Wound Healing at Sacred Heart Hospital is a testament to the exceptional care and dedication demonstrated by our team of physicians, leaders, and clinicians,” said Stephanie Clouse, director of administrative operations, Sacred Heart Hospital. “But the most rewarding thing is when a patient who came to us with a life- or limb-threatening wound walks away completely healed.”

For more information about St. Mary’s outpatient wound healing services in Lavonia and Athens, please visit Wound Healing | Trinity Health System.