Hyperbaric Medicine At Trinitas Hospital In Elizabeth, New Jersey
Trinitas Hospital’s Wound Healing Center – already one of the most successful programs of its kind in the nation – has expanded its program even further with the addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This treatment provides a safe and non-invasive procedure for patients with difficult wounds, crush injuries, acute burns or diabetes-related ulcers. With the addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the Center at Trinitas has been renamed The Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine.
ELIZABETH, NJ (PRWEB) July 1, 2004
Trinitas Hospital’s Wound Healing Center – already one of the most successful programs of its kind in the nation – has expanded its program even further with the addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This treatment provides a safe and non-invasive procedure for patients with difficult wounds, crush injuries, acute burns or diabetes-related ulcers. With the addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the Center at Trinitas has been renamed The Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine.
Patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy are placed in a specially-designed chamber that administers a 100 percent oxygen-rich environment under slight pressure. Room air – or the air we normally breathe – is 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent nitrogen. The high level of oxygen reaches the wound through the bloodstream, resulting in improved healing, greater blood vessel formation and reduced likelihood of infection.
“Hyperbaric chambers are often associated with treating decompression sickness in divers,” says Gary S. Horan, FACHE, President & Chief Executive Officer. “But today, through our Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine, we are able to accelerate healing in patients with burns, serious wounds, bone infections, radiation injury to bone or soft tissue, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Because of the many benefits of hyperbaric therapy, Trinitas Hospital has made a strong commitment to this technology with two hyperbaric chambers.”
The treatment is also be used for carbon monoxide poisoning, the leading cause of poisoning death in the United States.
“Nearly five million Americans suffer from chronic wounds, including those that are the result of diabetes, lower extremity arterial disease, lower extremity venous disease and edema, and pressure ulcers, as well as traumatic injuries,” says Peter Mlynarczyk, MD, Medical Director of the Center. “We believe this technology, delivered by our specialized team of physicians, nurses and foot specialists, will be of great benefit to them.”
In addition to wound healing, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also used to preserve damaged tissue and promote greater blood vessel formation, according to Nada Raiser, Director of the Center. “Hyperbaric therapy results in improved infection control, and can also eliminate or reduce the effects of toxic substances and gas bubble obstructions,” she says.
The Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine at Trinitas Hospital utilizes well-researched, proven techniques to provide healing and relief for patients who previously thought their wounds were irreparable or would ultimately result in amputation. The Center boasts a 98 percent success rate in healing problem wounds, one of the highest in the nation. In addition, the Center has a lower than expected length of healing time – sixty days versus a national average of sixty-five.
About Trinitas Hospital
Trinitas Hospital is a full service healthcare facility and a Catholic teaching hospital sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, serving those who live and work in Eastern and Central Union County. It is the result of the merger of Elizabeth General Medical Center and St. Elizabeth Hospital in 2000. Operating on two major campuses, Trinitas Hospital offers 531 beds, including a 120-bed long-term care center. Trinitas Hospital provides comprehensive medical/surgical services, emergency services, senior services, adult and child/adolescent psychiatric care, cardiac care, cancer services, renal services, an infectious disease program, maternal/child health services including a high-risk newborn nursery, inpatient pediatric care, diabetes management center, wound healing center, sleep disorders center and a bloodless medicine program.
