Haywood Regional Medical Center Introduces Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
July 21, 2020
Last month, Haywood Regional Medical Center’s (HRMC) Ambulatory Infusion, Sleep Center, and Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center moved to The Homestead. The move allows for increased comfort for patients in need of these treatments, whether it is multi-day wound treatments, lengthy infusions or a quieter sleep lab. As a part of the move, HRMC has installed and begun use of two hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) helps the body’s oxygen-dependent, wound-healing mechanisms function more efficiently. Patients are enclosed in a clear, large chamber, and breathe pure oxygen – allowing 15 to 20 times the normal amount of oxygen to be delivered to the body’s tissues and stimulate healing. A number of patients may benefit from the therapy, including diabetics who have non-healing wounds or bone infections, patients who have radiation cystitis, those with compromised skin grafts and more. Interim CEO Chris Fensterle shared, “HRMC has already begun treating patients with HBOT. It’s exciting, as we are able to help the folks in the community that have non-healing wounds that don’t respond to standard wound care. It can prevent amputations and extend patients’ lives.”
HRMC continues to assess decisions about which procedures can safely move forward through comprehensive risk assessments. Patients who are scheduled and approved for procedures must meet specific requirements, including passing standard COVID-19 screenings. Visit MyHaywoodRegional.com for more information about how we’re ensuring that our facilities are safe places for patients, providers and employees.
If you need a physician, you may call our Physician Referral Line at 800.424.3627 or visit the Need a Doctor tab at MyHaywoodRegional.com.