News

The St. Francis Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center has recently added the BARA-MED XD Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber, making St. Francis Hospital the first hospital in Georgia to offer this state-of the-art technology. With its technically advanced hyperbaric chambers, the BARA-MED XD chamber uses oxygen therapy to treat tissue damage and wounds that do not respond to traditional techniques. 

The BARA-MED XD chamber offers SMOOTH-RIDE pressure change technology, proven to reduce ear pain without increasing maneuver times while also increasing patient comfort and safety. 

The BARA-MED XD Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber utilizes an automated chamber Operating System for Control and Recordkeeping (OSCAR). It manages treatment protocols and maintains comprehensive documentation, utilizing electronic records. It enables technicians to focus direct attention on patient care and management.           

The BARA-MED XD Monoplace Hyperbaric Chamber accommodates patients weighing up to 700 pounds. "We acquired a larger chamber and a specially designed lift for the new chamber that allows us to lift obese or immobile patients onto the chamber gurney," says Lynn Thompson, administrative director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center. "More than 50 percent of patients treated at the center require wheelchairs and assistance.”           

During hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the pressurized chamber, the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen at two and one half times the normal atmospheric pressure. As a result, the blood carries larger amounts of oxygen to organs and tissues in the body, promoting quicker wound healing. The therapy is usually administered two hours a day, five days a week, for up to two months.           

"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has the potential to save limbs by increasing tissue oxygenation, promoting new tissue growth,” says Dr. Luther Wolff Jr., medical director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center. Other conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the Center are diabetic wounds, failing skin grafts/flaps, chronic refractory osteomyelitis (bone infection) and radiation necrosis.           

"Healing chronic wounds requires a systematic team approach, with the expertise, equipment, facilities and time to devote to the patient," says Paige Bence, program director. Hyperbaric oxygen is used in conjunction with a total wound-care program, including the collaborative efforts of dedicated physicians and nurses who determine the best course of treatment. 

The St. Francis Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center combines the expertise of experienced staff with the most advanced medical technology. The center is located in the Rosemont Health Center at 3720 Woodruff Road.  

For more information, call 706-257-7680 or visit www.etcBiomedical.com.