Carolyn Fields, program director of the Raleigh General Hospital Wound Care Clinic, shows one of two hyperbaric chambers at the new wound care facility in Beckley. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment that enhances the body’s natural healing process by inhalation of 100 percent oxygen in a total body chamber, where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled. The process is described as a “simple, non-invasive and painless treatment.” The new wound clinic will open Oct. 10.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — In less than two weeks, Raleigh General Hospital will open the region’s first wound care center.
The center, equipped with two hyperbaric chambers, will be staffed by a hyperbaric technician, two registered nurses and a panel of physicians certified in wound care.
Carolyn Fields, program director at the wound care center, said the center will serve patients in southern West Virginia who have previously had to drive to Charleston or Roanoke for similar services.
According to hbot.com, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment that enhances the body’s natural healing process by inhalation of 100 percent oxygen in a total body chamber, where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled. The process is described as a “simple, non-invasive and painless treatment.”
Fields said the treatment can be used on diabetic ulcers, osteomyelitis (a bone infection), lymphedema (swelling of the arms or legs), thermal burns and a number of other conditions.
While Fields believes two hyperbaric chambers will serve the needs of the community for now, she said she hopes to see services grow and expand in the future.
She encourages any patients who have unhealed wounds to reach out to the hospital or speak with their health care provider for a referral.
An open house for the public and the medical community will be held Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Door prizes and refreshments will be available.
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