HOLLAND, Mich. — Lakeshore residents who need advanced wound care now have access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy close to home, as Holland Hospital expands its Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine Program.
The hospital this month unveiled a newly remodeled, state-of-the-art hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) suite, eliminating the need for patients to travel to Grand Rapids for treatment that can require up to two hours a day, five days a week, for six to eight weeks.
“What it means for Holland Hospital, and maybe more importantly, the patients on the Lakeshore, is that they now have access to this treatment without having to drive 20, 30, or 40 miles every day, Monday through Friday,” said Dr. Lee Ruotsi, the recently appointed Medical Director of Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Holland Hospital.
The expansion was made possible in part by a donation from Priscilla Becker, whose late husband, Raymond, underwent hyperbaric therapy in Grand Rapids while receiving care from Holland Hospital’s wound clinic.
“Her husband was a patient of ours... and required hyperbaric chamber therapy. He and she had to drive back and forth to Grand Rapids every day for about two months,” said Joe Bonello, Holland Hospital’s vice president for clinical operations and chief nursing officer.
HBOT involves exposure to pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber, which helps damaged tissue heal more quickly, fights infection and supports tissue repair. The therapy can treat pressure injuries (bedsores), diabetic foot ulcers, burns, radiation tissue damage, post-surgical wounds, vascular wounds and other chronic, hard-to-heal injuries.
“Approximately 5% of patients who come to The Wound Center will ultimately become hyperbaric candidates,” said Ruotsi. “We’re not just going to be a hyperbaric center. We’re going to be a comprehensive wound healing center that now has all the tools we need to treat a variety of conditions.”
Primary care provider referral is required for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
More information on Holland Hospital’s Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Medicine Program is available here.
