Wound Care Achieves National Accreditation June 11, 2016 Patients seeking treatment for chronically non-healing wounds caused by some conditions such as diabetes or compromised surgical flaps have a high-quality choice for receiving treatment at a nationally accredited center. Samaritan Health Services announced that Samaritan Wound Care & Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Services has been accredited as a Comprehensive Center by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. The therapy involves use of pure oxygen in a pressurized clear acrylic chamber to promote wound healing. The technology has been used for decades, starting with the military to help scuba divers recover from resurfacing too quickly and pilots who were flying at too high of an altitude. Patients receiving care at the accredited center are carefully screened by a trained medical professional who also administers the therapy and are onsite at all times during each treatment. “We’re very excited about this accreditation,” said Cynthia Dye, clinic director. “We are a young program having opened 14 months ago. The accreditation is a testament to the quality and care patients receive, as well as the staff at our clinic.” To earn the elite designation, an organization must meet criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure and protocols for care. The Albany-based wound clinic is one of only five in Oregon and Washington to receive this accreditation. “Often times our patients have tried many first-line treatments to help their ailing wounds,” explained Dr. Priscilla Latta, the clinic’s medical director. “With as few as 30 treatments in our pressurized chamber using pure oxygen our patient’s wounds may be healed, helping improve their overall quality of life.” Located in the Samaritan Medical and Diagnostics Center in Albany, Oregon, the clinic performs careful evaluation and review of each patient to determine their candidacy for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
