Outpatient care upgraded
By Patricia J. Malin
The Mohawk Valley Health System has expanded its Advanced Wound Care office in New Hartford to better treat area outpatients with chronic or non-healing wounds.
MVHS Advanced Wound Care has been located at MVHS Medical Arts , 4401 Middle Settlement Road, New Hartford for eight years.
As part of its recent expansion, the facility added a treatment room, making the newer facility about 25 percent larger than the previous one, and now includes a pulmonary function-testing lab.
“We had five treatment rooms and now we have six,” said Corinne Ritzel, the program director. “We also brought the pulmonary function lab here, so outpatients can have PFTs and labs in one building. It’s more convenient and provides multiple services for our patients.”
The PFT lab was previously located at MVHS’s St. Elizabeth Campus in Utica. The relocation allows for more outpatient appointments in a comfortable setting, although inpatient testing will be done on a limited basis at the hospital.
MVHS Advanced Wound Care treats approximately 40 patients a day. “The expansion helps decrease wait time,” Ritzel explained.
Many of these patients have chronic wounds that are hard to heal, often seen with those patients diagnosed with diabetes.
At MVHS Advanced Wound Care, patients can get individualized, specialized treatments and advice to help them avoid loss of limbs and reduce the incidence of recurrence.
“Diabetics need to maintain control of their A1C, their blood glucose levels, so wounds heal,” Ritzel pointed out.
The staff takes time to discuss with the patient the underlying cause of the wounds, which can include lack of proper nutrition, exercise or having ill-fitting shoes.
There is also a new office/computer room for wound care doctors. There are four physicians on staff at MVHS Advanced Wound Care: J.J. (Jorge) Ferreiro, Mark Hobaica, medical director William Lindsey, and Gino Trevisani.
Lindsey has worked at MVHS Advanced Wound Care since it opened eight years ago and said he has seen “tremendous” improvement in patient treatment and education since that time.
“A lot of the information is common sense, but with access to the Internet, they also have to filter out some of that information,” he said.
Until MVHS Advanced Wound Care opened, Lindsey practiced general surgery in Oneida. “I’m glad to be here,” he said. “I enjoy every day here.”
MVHS Advanced Wound Care works with other community providers to help offer the best care for patients.
MVHS Advanced Wound Care also has two hyperbaric chambers for patients with hard to treat wounds.
The patient breathes 100 percent oxygen while under high atmospheric pressure.
The oxygen promotes growth in tissue cells to help them fight off bacterial infection and promote healing.