On average, a diabetic foot wound takes more than 84 days to fully heal. Patients who utilize the UPMC Western Maryland Wound Care Center average just 52 days.

“We have had several patients who should have lost a limb, but, due to our staff performing state of the art wound care, these folks were able to keep their limb,” said Wound Care Center Clinic Coordinator Taryn M. Bennett, RNC, BSN, CWOCN, CHRN.

The UPMC Western Maryland outpatient Wound Care Center treats and maintains wounds of all origins, including venous, arterial, diabetic, pressure injuries, traumatic, self-inflicted, surgical and more.

The Wound Care Clinicians strive to heal wounds in a timely fashion, help decrease hospital admission, help save wounded limbs and promote better outcomes for patients. “The Wound Care Center team works in conjunction with a patient’s provider,” said Julie Bielec, MD, Medical Director, Wound and Hyperbaric Center. “Clinicians run a comprehensive evaluation to determine the underlying cause for a wound so an individualized approach to healing for the patient’s wound can be applied.”

The treatments offered at the Wound Care Center include specialty dressings, debridement, offloading and compression therapy. Additionally, advanced therapies such as bioengineered skin grafting, low-frequency ultrasound and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are available.

The center utilizes two hyperbaric chambers that provide high-pressure oxygen to aid in healing wounds from interstitial cystitis, osteoradionecrosis, chronic refractory osteomyelitis, soft tissue necrosis and diabetic wounds.

The Wound Care Clinic is not a walk-in clinic, but every effort is made to schedule an appointment for a patient as soon as possible to help the healing process begin and keep the patient out of the hospital.

“Depending on a patient’s insurance, they can make their own referral to the Wound Center by calling and making an appointment,” Bennett added. “Usually it’s best for a patient to visit their Primary Care Provider for a referral to the center, though. We also work closely with home care agencies and see nursing home residents.”

All Wound Care Clinic Clinicians are certified in wound care as well as hyperbaric medicine. The team also holds a prosthetic limb evaluation day once a month.

The Wound Care Center is located in Suite 360 of the Medical Arts building at UPMC Western Maryland. To refer a patient or ask a question, please call 240-964-8711.