The Northwest Hospital Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center is home to three state-of-the-art hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, including a bariatric chamber. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be a powerful tool in treating patients with stubborn, non-healing wounds.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy allows the body's natural, oxygen-dependent healing process to work more efficiently in a 100% oxygen environment and can speed up the healing of wounds that have resisted conventional healing therapies. Conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy may include:

Enhancement of healing in select problem wounds
Soft tissue radionecrosis
Preservation of compromised grafts and flaps
Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
Tissue damage from radiation
Diabetic wounds of the lower extremity

The Northwest Hospital Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center's hyperbaric chambers are clear, see-through, single-person chambers allowing individualized treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments usually last from one and a half to two hours, and are administered once a day, five days a week. The number of treatments ordered depends on the indication, and the patient’s response to treatment. Patients can relax during treatment by watching videos, listening to music or sleeping. Our hyperbaric therapy team includes physicians, wound care nurses, and technicians who have specialized hyperbaric training.

For more information about insurance coverage or for further information about treatment at the Northwest Hospital Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center please call 206.668.1244, or send a fax to 206.668.1270.

An Effective Resource for Problem Wound Management

The Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art outpatient clinical wound care and hyperbaric medicine.

With more than 15 years of experience, the Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center is one of the longest-operating wound care centers in Western Washington. Our staff specializes in the treatment of problem wounds. We offer nine treatment rooms and three hyperbaric oxygen chambers on site, including a bariatric chamber.

We want you to think of our center as an extension of your practice. You will maintain the care of your patient’s underlying disease and provide over all care for your patient. The Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center will only treat the wound, while providing a case management approach that optimizes the continuum of care. Three service lines are available: outpatient, inpatient, and inpatient outreach.

Utilizing the Wound Care Center and Identifying Patients Who Will Benefit

Any patient with a wound that has not started to heal in two weeks or that has not completely healed in six weeks may be a candidate for treatment at the Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center. Our center is committed to seeing your patient within 48 hours of referral. Indications for wound therapy include:

Pressure ulcers
Diabetic ulcers
Neuropathic ulcers
lschemic ulcers
Venous insufficiency
Traumatic wounds
Surgical wounds
Vasculitis
Burns
Peristomal skin irritations
Other chronic, non-healing wounds

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

Approximately 16% of wound care patients may be eligible for Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT). HBOT is an adjunctive treatment in which the patient breathes 100% oxygen while enclosed in a pressurized chamber at greater than normal atmospheric pressure. While breathing pure oxygen, the patient’s blood plasma becomes saturated and carries 15 to 20 times the normal amount of oxygen to the body’s tissues. As a result, the body’s natural wound-healing mechanisms, which are oxygen dependent, are able to function more efficiently.

Approved Indications for Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

The following are approved indications for HBOT that are currently reimbursed by Medicare, HMOs, and other insurance carriers:

Soft tissue radionecrosis
Actinomycosis
Preservation of compromised skin grafts and flaps
Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
Diabetic ulcers of the lower extremities
Crush injuries/acute traumatic peripheral ischemia
Progressive necrotizing infections/fasciitis
Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency
Osteoradionecrosis

Individualized Treatment Plans

The Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center utilizes the latest wound healing tools along with traditional clinical treatments including:

Wound dressings
Debridement
Compression therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Prescriptive growth factors
Bio-engineered skin grafting
Edema management
Non-invasive vascular assessment

Patient care at the Northwest Hospital Wound Care Center focuses on individualized and holistic wound healing, including:

Nutritional assessment and counseling
Diabetic education
Patient and caregiver counseling
Pain management
Pressure relief including specialized beds, seat cushions and footwear

Addressing a Growing Problem: A Solution Using Evidence, Based Medicine

Statistics show a tremendous need for wound care treatment. Each year, approximately 6.5 million Americans (8.3% of the population) will suffer from problem wounds caused by diabetes, circulatory problems and many other conditions.

8 million Americans have diabetes
7 million Americans do not know they have diabetes
9% of people over 60 will have diabetes
15% of all diabetics will have problem wounds
Patients with diabetes have a 15 fold increase in the risk of amputation
60,000 diabetics will undergo amputation each year
Wound care treatment reduces amputation rates and length of hospital stays

What if the clinic is closed and I have a problem?

If it is a medical emergency please call 911. For non-critical, urgent problems, contact your physician. Otherwise, we will respond to all messages during regular clinic hours. If you have questions about how new medications will interfere with your therapy, please discuss your warfarin/Coumadin therapy with the dispensing pharmacist.

Institution	Credential	Year
Brown University Alpert School of Medicine	Medical education	2001
Valley Medical Center	Internship	2002
University of New Mexico	Residency	2004

Kari Y. Palmer M.D.

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