New Treatment Modalities for Wounds in Savannah at the Wound Care Clinic-ESU

New Treatment Modalities for Wounds in Savannah at the Wound Care Clinic-ESU

Patients, who suffer with chronic non-healing wounds or acute wounds, now have a new place to go in Savannah. The Wound Care Clinic - ESU, Inc., located at 815 East 68th Street, opened its doors in April, 2005 and since that time, has treated over 90 patients. “Taking care of chronic wounds that won't heal is our mission here,” said Paula Kreissler, the president of Wound Care Clinic-ESU.
The Wound Care Clinic-ESU sees physician-referral patients and accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance, as well as treating those from the underserved or uninsured populations. The facility is staffed with medical professionals. It is headed up by Family Nurse Practitioner, Melanie Finocchiaro, APRN, BC with Debbie Hagins, MD as collaborative physician.

“We have four treatment rooms and use state of the art treatment equipment for our patients.” said Kreissler. The clinic offers standard moist therapy for wound care along with electrical stimulation, ultrasound and the negative pressure wound vacuum as additional therapies for wound closure. The treatment process involves a medical history, physical evaluation, and wound assessment. The wound is then cleansed and treated with electrical stimulation and ultrasound. Moist dressings or the negative pressure wound vacuum are then used to facilitate healing. Electrical stimulation is the use of electrical energy applied around and to the wound to stimulate healing by increasing blood flow, increasing oxygenation, and reducing edema and pain. Ultrasound is the use of a mechanical vibration transmitted at a frequency above human hearing to stimulate the release of growth factors and to warm the wound, decreasing the healing time. Working together, ultrasound and electrical stimulation can heal wounds up to 50% faster than standard moist therapies.

November is American Diabetes Month and the Wound Care Clinic-ESU
is doing its part to educate the public about the disease which is the 5th leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Diabetes claims over 225,000 lives a year. In Georgia, there are 750,000 people who have diabetes. Approximately 249,000 diabetics don't even know they have the disease. The most common form of the disease, Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by maintaining a proper weight, improving nutritional intake, and increasing physical activity. Educating the public on risk factors for the disease is paramount to prevention. A patient who is diabetic often develops a loss of sensation (neuropathy) to the feet and legs. With the lack of sensation, the patient often ignores a wound until it worsens or becomes infected. The diabetic disease process slows the healing process of these wounds and the patient develops a chronic diabetic ulcer. If the wound does not heal, the wound can lead to amputation. “With our use of standard moist therapies and innovative new treatment modalities here at the Wound Care Clinic-ESU, we're determined to prevent amputations here.” said Kreissler.
The Clinic's president is very involved with the American Diabetes Association and was one of the sponsors for Savannah's Walk for Diabetes on November 4th. The walk was held, at Oatland Island Education Center, to kick off American Diabetes Month. The annual event, in its 15th year, had teams from companies, churches, neighborhoods and friends who joined the effort to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Kreissler is also participating in the Diabetes University on January 27, 2007, sponsored by the Savannah Chapter of the American Diabetes Association. This is a half-day education program with sessions and exhibits for everyone affected by diabetes. The theme is “Educate Yourself — Improve Your Health.”

The Wound Care Clinic - ESU, Inc. is located at 815 East 68th Street, Suite 2, in Savannah, Georgia 31405. It offers standard treatment for wound care along with electrical stimulation and ultrasound as additional therapies to enhance wound closure. For more information log onto www.woundcareclinic.net or call (912) 691-2614.