Southcoast Health’s Wound Care recently earned national recognition for clinical excellence at Charlton Memorial and St. Luke’s hospitals with a 2023 Center of Distinction award from Healogics LLC, the country’s largest provider of advanced wound care services. Cheryl Thompson, market director for Southcoast Health Wound Care Centers, spoke with Providence Business News about the wound care centers.
PBN: What kinds of services does Southcoast Health offer at its wound care locations?
THOMPSON: Southcoast Health Wound Care provides treatment for patients with acute and chronic wounds. Chronic wounds are defined as wounds that have not followed a traditional timeframe nor path toward healing. Anyone can develop a chronic wound, although they are more common in patients with preexisting conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and circulation issues.
The scope of services provided at all three Southcoast Health Wound Care locations involves a treatment plan that addresses the underlying cause of the wound, as well as an assessment of how other medical conditions impact wound healing. The primary services Southcoast Health offers include surgical debridement, diagnostic testing, care coordination, collaboration and referrals to specialty providers, assistance with visiting nurses and wound supplies, patient education, specialty wound care dressings, and advanced modalities that include bioengineered skin substitutes, compression therapy, negative pressure wound therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen treatments.
PBN: What does it mean for Southcoast to be recognized for Clinical Excellence from Healogics?
THOMPSON: Southcoast Health Wound Care, in partnership with Healogics LLC, has received national recognition for clinical excellence at Charlton Memorial and St. Luke’s hospitals with the Center of Distinction award from Healogics for 2023. This award signifies that both locations have achieved specific quality measures in clinical outcomes, including a patient satisfaction rate higher than 92% for 12 consecutive months.
This recognition is a testament to the exceptional care and dedication demonstrated by our wound care providers, leaders and clinicians. It also indicates that we have excelled in selecting performance quality indicators compared to other wound centers nationally.
In addition to this recognition, Southcoast Health opened a third Wound Care location nine months ago at Tobey Hospital in Wareham, Mass. This new location was not open long enough to be evaluated for this recognition but follows all of the same operational and clinical standards.
PBN: How would you define clinical excellence when it comes to wound care?
THOMPSON: I would define clinical excellence as delivering care in a fashion that prioritizes a patient-first approach. In our practice, we recognize that each patient has a unique set of medical needs, and we ensure that they play a vital role in their treatment plan.
Along with an emphasis on patient engagement, we deliver comprehensive individualized care that spans across the care continuum and is driven by evidenced-based clinical standards of practice.
Many of our patients come to us in the middle of a challenging medical journey, and wound care plays an essential role in improving their comfort and quality of life as they address chronic health conditions. We have seen firsthand that incorporating the patient in this decision-making is essential to achieving positive health outcomes.
PBN: Southcoast Health opened a new Wound Care location in Massachusetts. Why did you decide to expand and when did it open?
THOMPSON: Chronic wounds are a growing health care problem and nearly 7 million patients are living with wounds in the United States. Last July, Southcoast Health Wound Care opened an additional location at Tobey Hospital to expand access to this service across the south coast region.
In 2023, Southcoast Health Wound Care took on over 1,500 new patients and provided 15,764 visits throughout the year, including around 2,000 in Wareham. With an aging population and higher prevalence of conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we can only expect this need to continue to increase. The development of the new location aligned well with Southcoast Health’s mission to improve the health and well-being of this vulnerable wounded population in the communities that we serve.
PBN: What are your primary goals for Southcoast Health’s Wound Care locations for the remainder of the year?
THOMPSON: The primary goal of Southcoast Health Wound Care is to provide the most sophisticated services available within the industry to heal wounds faster, alleviate pain, improve quality of life, and prevent further complications such as infection, hospitalization, or, in severe cases, amputations. To ensure we are meeting these goals, all three locations systematically and continuously engage in process improvement activities to sustain clinical excellence and to improve patient outcomes. It is rewarding to see these teams consistently raise the bar for each other to achieve a higher comprehensive heal rate and improve year over year.
In addition to improving quality outcomes, we are excited to share that we will be implementing a new program that will specifically address patients that need more long-term care, follow-up appointments and education. Currently, 50%-70% of patients with certain types of wounds will have another wound in the previously treated area. This new program will help identify complex patients at risk for recurrence once their wound heals and allow our teams to treat the wounds sooner with our specialized techniques, preventing potential complications.
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.
