You
count on
most wounds
getting better
with some time
and attention.
But if you
have health
issues that are
preventing
healing, you
may develop a chronic wound that
requires special treatment.
If you’re living with such a wound,
know that there are people who
are experts in your health prob-
lemwaiting to care for you at the
Wound Healing & Hyperbaric
Medicine Center at Mercy Medical
Center Redding.
Great results
Vascular SurgeonDouglas G. Hat-
ter, MD, helped launch the center
in 2008. He sawa need for special-
ized care of openwounds that resist
healing—diabetic ulcers or sores
related to circulation problems are
two examples. “And the best way
to provide that care is at a center
whosewhole focus is on taking care
of that problem,”Dr. Hatter says.
The center’s 97 percent healing rate exceeds the national average,
and most wounds are improving within weeks.
Healing
chronic
wounds
Specialized care brings high
success rate
The center has a 97 percent heal
rate, exceeding the national
average. Most patients we see at
the center are improving in a few
weeks. Dr. Hatter says a focus on
clinical guidelines and underlying
causes are among the reasons for
such success.
“I often look at chronic wounds as
sort of the tip of the iceberg,” Dr.
Hatter says. “When you start to
delve into why it’s not healing, you
often find a number of issues that
contribute to the problem and need
to be addressed.”
Time toheal
Wound experts at the center take
the utmost care with each patient
to understand all of his or her
health needs. Then they work with
the patient’s doctor to create a care
plan that may include:
Weekly debridement (removal
of dead or damaged tissue) to
promote new tissue growth.
Special wound dressings and
wraps.
Advanced treatments when
needed. Bioengineered tissue
grafts and hyperbaric oxygen
therapy (HBOT) are two exam-
ples. HBOT involves breathing
100 percent oxygen inside one
of the center’s two pressurized
chambers to help a wound heal.
“There’s no better place to have
a chronic wound evaluated and
treated than at a center dedicated
to taking care of that specific
problem,” Dr. Hatter says.
For more information or to schedule an
appointment at Mercy Medical Center Redding’s
Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine Center,
call
530.245.4801
.
WOUND CARE
Photo by Bret Christenson, West Coast Marketing
Douglas G.
Hatter, MD
11
Dignity Health
