New Silver Cross Wound Healing Center Will Offer Crucial Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Treatment for patients with chronic, non-healing wounds consists of several distinct steps, including ensuring proper blood flow, debridement, good nutrition and proper wound dressing, each critical to helping ensure difficult-to-heal wounds don’t become debilitating or life-threatening infections. 

And if all other measures haven’t addressed the issue, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) can help.

Starting April 17, the Silver Cross Center for Advanced Wound Healing will begin offering HBO therapy with the addition of two state-of-the-art HBO units. 

In fact, the center is rebranding itself as Silver Cross Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine and moving to its new, convenient location in Silver Cross Pavilion D, Suite 130, on the campus of Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. 

“We already have identified 19 of our patients who could benefit from hyperbaric oxygen treatment,” said Matthew Boebel, Associate Vice President of Clinical Services at Silver Cross. 

What is HBO?

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is a treatment in which the patient breathes 100 percent pure oxygen while inside a pressurized chamber. The air pressure inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is about two-and-a-half times greater than the normal pressure in the atmosphere. This “hyperbaric” (or high pressure) dose of oxygen helps the blood carry more oxygen to organs and connective tissues to promote wound healing. It also activates the white blood cells to fight infection. 

HBO therapy is especially helpful for patients with diabetes or cancer-related wounds, Boebel said. An increase in diabetes-related wound cases and the limited number of HBO treatment options in Silver Cross’ service area was among the reasons for moving the wound management clinic from the lower level of the main hospital to larger quarters across the street on the first floor of Pavilion D at 1851 Silver Cross Blvd. 

“We needed more room for the oxygen supplies for the hyperbaric oxygen chambers,” Boebel said. “But we’ll also have five treatment rooms and additional staff. We’ll be able to get patients into treatment more quickly.” 

The extra rooms and staff are important, he added, because the wound management center is getting 40 to 45 new patients a month. That’s in addition to 120 patient visits a week from regulars. 

“We don’t just see a patient once and say come back in three weeks,” Boebel said. “We provide the treatment necessary to make sure their wound heals properly so no infection can creep in.” 

Standard wound treatment begins with making sure there is proper blood flow to the site and treating any infection. Debridement, or clearing away dead tissue around the wound, is critical for proper healing, he said. 

The next steps are glucose control and nutrition, offloading – making sure the patient doesn’t put excessive weight on or near the wound – and making sure the wound is properly dressed. Then, it may be time to consider a skin graft or the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Boebel said. 

He said they are fortunate to have doctors specializing in general surgery, podiatry and internal medicine on staff at the clinic to refer and monitor patients. 

As an additional benefit, Boebel said the new clinic in Pavilion D will be easier for patients to access, with parking closer to the door and no elevators to navigate. 

“A lot of our patients often have mobility issues in addition to their wound issues,” he said. “The new clinic will make it much easier for them.” 

To learn more about Silver Cross Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, call (815) 300-5997.