News Release

For immediate release
September 19, 2008

For more information contact
Marketing Strategies, Inc.
Denise Blackburn, APR or Sarah George, APR
(843) 692-9662
pr@marketingstrategiesinc.com


Marion Regional Healthcare System to Host Business After Hours

Marion, SC--Marion Regional Healthcare System will host the combined Business After Hours of the Greater Mullins and the Marion Chambers of Commerce this Wednesday, September 24 at 5:30 p.m.

Don Lloyd, Executive Vice President is extending a special invitation to the community to join the chambers in what promises to be one of their largest business mixers to date.

According to Lloyd, several of the Hospital’s newest physicians will be on hand including Drs. Jun Koike, (Obstetrics and Gynecology); Yaw Boateng (Hospitalist); Itai Mupanduki (Hospitalist) and Michael Kamanda (Internal Medicine).  “It is a great opportunity for these physicians to meet the community and vice versa,” he said. 

Attendees will also get a first-hand look at the Wound Healing Center which opened earlier this month.

Parakkat Krishnan, M.D., the Medical Director, along with Sue Rudnicki, Program Director, will be on hand to answer questions and guide visitors through the Center’s process.

Probably one of the more interesting visual aspects of the Wound Healing Center is the Hyperbaric Chamber which provides oxygen therapy 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 red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it from the inside out. Diabetic foot wounds are an excellent example of wounds that may benefit from this type of treatment.

Relaxing on a bed encased within a large see-through plastic shell, patients can watch movies on televisions and VCR players mounted above the chamber while hearing the movies and conversing with others outside the chamber through a speaker system. The only physical sensation resulting from the treatment is a slight pressure on the eardrum, such as that felt when a plan lands, as the air in the chamber is compressed. “Most visitors are especially fascinated with this,” said Rudnicki.

According to national statistics, patients who turn to a certified Wound Healing Center such as that offered through Marion Regional Healthcare System achieve an average healing rate of 80% in 12 to 16 weeks of therapy. “While this may not hold true for all patients, it is a statistic that is promising for individuals who have wounds that not healed through traditional medical care,” she continued.

“We have developed a methodology that has established an impressive record of healing wounds that others thought hopeless,” she said.  “After performing a full diagnosis on a patient’s first visit, we take photographs of the wound at each subsequent visit to evaluate the therapy’s progress. Our treatments are evidence based and best practice driven meaning our patients do not undergo any treatment or progress to a new level of treatment until the need is clearly indicated,” she said.

Likely candidates for treatment are those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps and wounds that haven’t healed within 30 days.

Individuals who would like to tour the facility during this week’s Chamber event are invited to do so. Others who have questions or would like to arrange a private tour/consultation may call Program Director, Susan Rudnicki at the Wound Healing Center at (843) 431-CARE.