Specialized Treatment for Chronic or Non‑Healing Wounds

At the Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Centers, we provide specialized treatment for chronic or non-healing wounds. These are sores or wounds that have not significantly improved from conventional treatments. Causes of a non-healing wound may be immobility or inadequacy of oxygen due to poor circulation. Non-healing wounds lead to lower quality of life and may lead to amputations in the most serious situations. When wounds persist, a specialized approach is required for optimal healing.

Leading Wound Care with two Convenient Locations

Skagit Regional Health offers two comprehensive centers offering specialized wound care. Located at Hospital Parkway Plaza, just adjacent to Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, is the Sonya Beard Hyperbaric Center and Skagit Wound Healing Center. The Cascade Valley Hospital Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center is located near Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington. Both centers are operated through a partnership with Healogics and known for their excellent outcomes, offering advanced modalities in the treatment of patients with chronic wounds.

State-of-the-Art Model of Care

With state-of-the-art treatments available including debridement, dressing selection, special shoes and patient education, people with non-healing and chronic wounds have a place to help them heal. We offer advanced wound care that aims to heal patients in a faster and more cost-effective way. Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Centers use an interdisciplinary model of care, including:

• Diabetes education
• Infectious-disease management
• Laboratory evaluation
• Nutritional management
• Occupational therapy
• Pain management
• Physical therapy
• Other areas to address total patient health

Specialized and Comprehensive Approach to Treatment

Using a specialized and comprehensive approach to treatment, Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Centers employ the most technologically advanced wound care therapy, including:

• Debridement
• Dressing selection
• Growth-factor therapy
• Patient education
• Special shoes
• Tissue therapy
• Topical wound therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Program Speeds Healing

Skagit Regional Health has an important tool available at both locations to treat wounds. This tool is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). The hyperbaric oxygen chambers allow 100 percent oxygen to be delivered under pressure to help promote the growth of new blood vessels and the healing of chronic wounds in patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen. The infusion of oxygen helps heal diabetic ulcers, osteomyelitis (bone infection), failed skin grafts, post-radiation injuries or osteonecrosis, which is bone death caused by poor blood supply to the area.

A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Our multidisciplinary team collaborates on all wound care evaluations and treatment decisions, keeping up-to-date on new scientific advances in wound care. We follow treatment protocols specifically established for each type of wound and utilize the latest approaches to wound healing. Our multifaceted team includes:

• Physicians with advanced training in wound management, infectious disease and hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Experienced staff to assist with appointments, medical records and health insurance processing
• Nursing staff trained in the case management of chronic wounds
• Clinical staff who perform non-invasive studies and various therapies

What to Expect

Patients are mostly referred by their primary care physician and the program operates by appointment. Upon referral to a Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Center, patients undergo a thorough diagnostic examination to identify the type of wound and the underlying problems causing the wound. The initial appointment consists of a full assessment to determine the cause of the wound, the appropriate classification and size of the wound, the overall health status of the patient and the patient’s ability to comply with needed therapies.

Customized Treatment Plan Optimizes Therapies

Based on the evaluation, a customized treatment plan is developed to optimize the therapies best suited to address each patient’s needs. Wound size and depth are documented at the initial visit and again at each subsequent visit. Some of the diagnostic modalities which may be used include:

• Laboratory evaluation
• Radiology (including MRI)
• Transcutaneous oxygen testing
• Ultrasound
• Vascular studies (including electrocardiogram)

After this determination, a program specifically tailored to your needs will be initiated based on the most effective treatment options. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to provide the maximum healing possible. Specialized wound care is usually administered on an outpatient basis. Patients are free to drive themselves to our Wound Care Center for therapy. You should plan approximately two-and-a-half to three hours for your first visit and approximately one hour for subsequent visits.

Types of Wounds We Treat

We treat the following types of wounds at the Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Centers:

• Arterial
• Burns
• Diabetic ulcers
• Infected or slow-healing surgical wounds
• Ostomy care
• Pressure ulcers
• Skin grafts/Flaps
• Skin tears/Lacerations
• Venous stasis

For More Information About Wound Care

To learn more about our Skagit Regional Health Wound Care Centers and our improved outcomes with hyperbaric oxygen, please contact one of our team members at the most convenient location near you. To contact the Mount Vernon location, call 360-814-2600. To reach the Arlington location, call 360-403-8158.