Cincinnati - The Christ Hospital opened the Wound Healing Center to offer the community state-of-the-art specialized wound healing care. The center will focus on the healing of chronic wounds and a hyperbaric chamber will be installed within the next few months.

Likely candidates for treatment at the Wound Healing Center are those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven't healed within 30 days.

"With the rising rate of diabetes, there is a great need for a specialized care center that can treat the ulcers associated with the disease as well as help patients with other skin, bone and tissue conditions caused by illness or injury," says Donald Kob, program director for the Wound Healing Center. "The center's doctors and clinical staff are skilled in the latest therapeutic methods in wound management and stay abreast of cutting-edge information through continuous training."

To establish the center, The Christ Hospital partnered with Florida-based National Healing Corporation, which manages wound healing centers nationwide with an average healing rate of 80 percent attained in 12 to16 weeks of therapy. Although the centers treat patients with chronic and advanced conditions that have not responded to previous therapies, the rate of limb amputation for non-responsive wounds is less than four percent.

Patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans may self-refer to the Wound Healing Center. However, one of the center's missions is to build relationships with patients' primary care physicians.

"We become a partner in the patient's medical care," said Kob. "While we dedicate our efforts to healing the patient's wound, the primary care physician is free to focus on treating the underlying cause or disease. Through regular reports and phone calls, we work with the patient's doctors and other experts in the program to develop a total approach to treatment and care."

For more information or to make an appointment at the Wound Healing Center, please call 513-585-4595.

The Christ Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The University Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital, Drake Center, West Chester Medical Center and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care. To view other Health Alliance news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom.

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