NMC-Bentonville opens wound care and hyperbaric center

The new Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville Wound & Hyperbaric Center is expected to give patients more comprehensive wound care.

The hospital’s parent company, Springdale-based Northwest Health, announced the opening Friday (Dec. 5), saying patients will be examined “by a multidisciplinary staff trained in wound care and evaluated for all possible physical conditions, such as diabetes, that could interfere with proper healing,” according to a news release.

Between five and seven million Americans experience at least one form of a chronic wound annually and the frequency of these wounds is increasing by approximately 10 percent each year, Northwest Health says.

“Many of these individuals suffer from wounds that refuse to heal despite conventional treatment,” Sharif Omar, Northwest Health CEO, said in the release. “These chronic, non-healing wounds seldom involve a simple answer.”

The outpatient facility is staffed by doctors, staff and technicians with advanced training in wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). HBO promotes healing by increasing the level of oxygen in the tissue and improving the healing efficiency of the white blood cells, according to Northwest Health. Therapy is administered in a hyperbaric chamber that delivers 100 percent oxygen with increased atmospheric pressure, stimulating the entire body’s natural healing responses.

HBO is also a treatment for conditions without open wounds, according to Northwest Health, such as radionecrosis and osteoradionecrosis, osteomyelitis and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Patients who are prescribed HBO typically require treatment five days a week for two-hour sessions. Each session requires 10 to 15 minutes to reach the necessary atmospheric pressure before a 90-minute treatment, and then another 10 to 15 minutes to return to normal atmospheric pressure.

The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.