Good Samaritan Hospital's Wound and Hyperbaric Institute Receives Accreditation from Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Recognizing Advanced Care

SUFFERN, N.Y., July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wound and Hyperbaric Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital has been awarded accreditation by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), the leading authority in hyperbaric medicine. This accreditation is recognition that few hospitals and facilities have earned, and identifies the Institute as providing patients with advanced care.

The super oxygenation offered by hyperbaric treatments can help those with chronic non-healing wounds caused by diabetes, poor circulation, traumatic injury, radiation therapy and other causes. Good Samaritan Hospital's Wound Care and Hyperbaric Institute offers two oversized, private hyperbaric chambers where patients can relax, listen to music or watch a movie during treatment. More than 5 million Americans suffer from non-healing wounds.

Good Samaritan Hospital is the only hospital in the region to offer this treatment, which is designed to heal wounds stemming from infections, radiation, operations, post-operative complications, trauma, diabetes, and gangrene.  The Institute is led by Hyperbaric Medical Director Bijo Chacko M.D. and Medical Director of Wound Care Jay Levine, DPM. Integrated clinical support is provided by System Director of Wound Services & Diabetes Education Carla Errico, MPH, RD, and the entire Good Samaritan Hospital physician/clinician staff.

"This recognition reinforces the hard work and dedication to patients that our staff exhibits on a daily basis," said Philip A. Patterson, CEO of Bon Secours Charity Health System, Good Samaritan Hospital's parent organization. "Good Samaritan Hospital continues to offer state-of-the-art care for local residents right in their neighborhood."  

In order to receive the UHMS accreditation, the Institute submitted to an inspection by expert evaluators who rated it on commitment to staffing and training, equipment installation, operation, maintenance, facility and patient safety and standards of care. More than 1,600 individual standards had to be successfully met to receive accreditation.

"The Wound Care and Hyperbaric Institute represents the most advanced integration of hardware, software, staff training and credentialing available to the region," said Glenn Butler, CEO of the Life Support Technologies group, which has partnered with Good Samaritan Hospital to develop the Institute. "Being a UHMS-accredited facility demonstrates that the Institute has been thoroughly examined and deemed successful in meeting the national standards set forth by UHMS and The Joint Commission."

Institute is Research Leader

The staff of Good Samaritan Hospital's Wound and Hyperbaric Institute is among the leaders in industry research.  To date, the Institute's team has produced three scholarly papers in the field of Wound Care and Hyperbarics. Most recently, Nurse Practitioner Lise Crapella was invited to present her paper, "Creative multidisciplinary effort in utilizing both new and old modalities: treating a large complicated wound in life threatening case of mixed synergistic Fournier's Gangrene," to the Oxygen Research Foundation's Science of Wound Care, Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Conference and Expo on August 4-7, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Crapella, who received her Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Certification, believes that teamwork at Good Samaritan contributed to the success of the patient suffering from Fournier's Gangrene.

"There are a lot of choices in topical wound care for patients," said Crapella. "Our team collaborates to discuss what the best and most feasible option is for each patient.  This particular patient who we discussed in our scholarly paper required surgical treatment, topical treatment and hydrotherapy.  The combination of treatments helped the patient heal and be discharged."

Previous scholarly paper authors include Dr. Laura Sudarsky, MD, FACS, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital, et al., who wrote "Sternal Wound Infection Management with a Combination of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO2) and Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC)," a paper that was accepted for presentation by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Society Scientific Committee in June 2010.

Dr. Sudarsky, et al., also wrote "Combination Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment and Vacuum Assisted Closure in Complex Trunk Wounds."  The paper was accepted for review and presented and won third place at the Association of Advanced Wound Care Research Poster Grand Round sessions on April 19, 2010.

About Bon Secours Charity Health System

The Bon Secours Charity Health System includes Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y., a regional medical center, and two community hospitals: Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, N.Y., and St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, N.Y.  Additionally, Bon Secours Charity Health System provides the services of a Certified Home Health Agency, two long-term care facilities, an assisted living and adult home facility, and several other off-site medical programs.  The Bon Secours Charity Health System draws its name from the two Catholic orders that jointly sponsor the system: The Sisters of Bon Secours and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.  For more information, visit http://bschs.bonsecours.com.

SOURCE Good Samaritan Hospital