HRMC Wound Healing Center Offers Progressive Treatment Options

The Wound Healing Center at Hackettstown Regional Medical Center is celebrating its Fifth Anniversary serving the residents of Northern and Northwest New Jersey.

Developed for chronic wounds and those non-responsive to conventional treatment modalities, HRMC's Wound Healing Center has treated approximately 2,500 patients with a very successful healing rate within the first 16 weeks of treatment. The average healing rate across the USA is about 80% according to The National Healing Institute. Since we first opened, the Wound Healing Center continues to have much-higher-than-average healing rates," states Karen Young, program director of the Wound Healing Center. "And our patient satisfaction scores, which reflect both our healing success rate and our customer service skills, are excellent," she adds.

"The largest group of individuals treated at the Wound Healing Center are people with diabetes who have lower extremity wounds that will not heal. The Center also treats a great number of patients with arterial circulation problems, venous circulation problems, serious infections and patients who have received radiation for cancer treatment with damage to surrounding tissue. All of the therapies are evidenced-based and driven by the best practices known to heal very difficult wounds," states Eric Gross, MD, medical director of the Wound Healing Center. The Center has allowed many people to heal and get on with their lives, adds Gross.

The methods employed by the Center have established an impressive record of healing wounds that others thought hopeless, including many that might have required amputation. Carefully researched methods, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, allow patients to receive state-of-the-art treatment of wounds that have resisted healing despite months, or even years, of conventional treatment.

Fact Sheet
The Wound Healing Center offers a comprehensive program that includes state-of-the-art treatment for non-healing wounds such as:

  • Any wound which has failed to show signs of healing for more than 30 days
  • Any wound which has not responded to previous treatments or therapies
  • Post-operative infections
  • Slow or non-healing surgical wounds
  • Diabetic foot ulcers
  • Lower leg ulcers
  • Pressure ulcers
  • Chronic bone infection (osteomyelitis)
  • Gangrene
  • Crush injuries
  • Skin tears or lacerations
  • Radiation and other burns
  • Failing or compromised skin/muscle grafts or flaps
  • Insect or dog bites

Wound Healing at HRMC: The HRMC Wound Healing Center offers a variety of specialized treatments, including:

  • Doppler Evaluation of Pulses: Determines blood flow available to transport nutrients and medications to the wound.
  • SensiLase Non-invasive Vascular Testing System: A painless and reliable way to non-invasively assess circulation in a limb.
  • Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): In this treatment, the patient breathes 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressures. This increases the oxygen levels in body tissues for the promotion of healing and the fighting of infection.
  • Wound Debridement: An outpatient procedure that enhances the growth of healthy tissue around the wound.
  • Wound Dressings: Each wound care product is chosen based on the needs of the patient. The proper dressing promotes the correct environment the body requires to heal.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Breathing 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure is a painless, proven way to help the body heal. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers work by surrounding the patient with 100% oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure in sessions that last 90 minutes to two hours. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood allowing red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it from the inside out.

For more information or to make an appointment, call the Wound Healing Center at (908) 979-8788.