Shore Health System’s Wound Healing Center hosted a professional seminar for physicians, nurses, social workers and other clinical staff on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in wound healing. The guest speaker was Roberto Penne Casanova, MD, MPHT, CWS.
Dr. Penne is a senior clinical consultant and a member of the medical advisory board for National Healing Corporation. National Healing manages Shore Health System’s Wound Healing Center, which is located at The Memorial Hospital at Easton. A retired commander of the US Air Force’s Hyperbaric and Wound Care Medicine Flight, Dr. Penne is a nationally recognized expert on the topic of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In his presentation, Dr. Penne focused on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for treatment of chronic wounds, which are commonly experienced by individuals with diabetes.
Shore Health System’s Wound Healing Center is the only healthcare facility on the Mid-Shore equipped with hyperbaric oxygen chambers. For patients who meet the criteria, hyperbaric oxygenation is used alone or in combination with other medical and surgical procedures to enhance the healing process for individuals with chronic wounds. The patient relaxes on a bed encased within a large see-through chamber, while the chamber is infused with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Increased oxygenation allows red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it from the inside out.
In addition to hyperbaric oxygenation, the Wound Healing Center conducts vascular studies, tissue culturing and pathology, revascularization, skin grafting, and clinical or surgical debridement. Throughout a course of treatment, the Center’s panel of specially trained physicians and nurses provide regular updates to a patient’s referring physician.
The Wound Healing Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday at Memorial Hospital, 219 S. Washington Street in Easton. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is covered by Medicare and most private insurance plans. For more information about the Wound Healing Center, call 410-820-6500 or visit www.shorehealth.org/services/woundcenter.html.