Wound Healing Now Offered in East Snohomish County
New specialty service provided at Valley General Hospital

Monroe, WA - Everyone has heard that time heals all wounds, but the truth of the matter is that without advanced therapies, some wounds can take years and even decades to heal. On November 20, Valley General Hospital will open the Wound Healing Center to offer the community state-of-the-art specialized wound healing care.

“With the rising rate of diabetes, there is a great need for specialized care centers that can treat ulcers associated with the disease as well as help patients with other skin, bone and tissue conditions,” states Sandie Howells, Program Director. To establish the center, VGH has partnered with National Healing Corporation, which manages other wound healing centers nationwide.

“The center’s doctors and clinical staff are skilled in the latest therapeutic methods of wound management. Patients will be treated with state-of-the-art technology from having their progress charted through digital photographs to, in some cases, being treated in the center’s hyperbaric oxygen chambers,” states Howells.

Patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance, talk to your physician about a referral. Also some plans may self-refer to VGH. However, one of the center’s missions is to build relationships with patients’ primary care physicians.

“We become a partner in the patient’s medical care,” states general surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Borjeson, who serves as the medical director of the center. “While we dedicate our efforts to healing the patient’s wound, the primary care physician is free to focus on treating the underlying cause. We will works as a team to develop a total approach to treatment and care.”

One of the specialized treatments offered at the center is hyperbaric oxygen therapy which works by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s blood and, in the case of wounds, allows the wound to heal from the inside out.

For more information call VGH’s Wound Healing Center at 360-863-4655.