Great Plains Regional Medical Center opened the Great Plains Wound Healing Center on October 29, 2013. This center brings specialty care previously not found in the region for those suffering from chronic non-healing wounds.

Diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, aging, and the late effects of radiation therapy often can lead to chronic, non-healing wounds. More than 8 million people in the U.S. suffer from such wounds.

“We’ve been seeing an increase in population needing the types of services we provide for quite some time now,” said Tara Harper, program director, Great Plains Wound Healing Center. “Having this center allows us to care for patients in an outpatient setting with advanced therapies that are specifically designed to aid in the healing of chronic wounds.”

Bioengineered skin substitutes are one of those therapies. Bioengineered skin accelerates wound healing by introducing living cells to re-establish the conditions needed for repair. “Our staff are specially trained to use these treatments,” Harper said. “We begin with a thorough exam to determine the type of wound and identify underlying problems that might be preventing the wound from healing.”

Other state-of-the-art treatments the Wound Healing Center offers include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure therapies, and biosynthetics. Patients also may have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials and multi-center studies.

A member of the Healogics™ network, Great Plains Wound Healing Center employs a rigorous scientific approach to explore, test, find and develop the clinically proven methods and technologies which reintroduce the body’s innate ability to heal. The network, comprised of academic medical centers, hospitals, and thousands of professionals, is committed to advancing wound healing by creating, sharing, and activating wound prevention and care expertise.

A patient with a wound that has not begun to heal in two weeks or is not completely healed in six weeks may benefit from the center’s services. This includes those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, radiation injuries to soft tissue and bone, and compromised skin grafts and flaps.

“Without this center, people would have to travel over 350 miles in any direction to obtain the services that we now provide,” said Harper.