Despite poor economic conditions and some consolidation, the wound center is still on go, according to hospital officials.

Employees of Scotland Memorial Hospital were excited this week as two hyperbaric chambers arrived on site.

"We've installed our two hyperbaric oxygen chambers," said Greg Wood, president and CEO of the Scotland Healthcare System. "We remain on track to open the first week of May."

"We are excited to offer this important service to our community," Wood said. "It will be offered by local physicians with extensive training."

Wood said the center would be run by physicians and staff members currently at the hospital.

"They are committed to the hospital and this community," Wood added.

Paula Davis, a health care specialist with more than two decades of experience, has been named director of the new wound healing program at Scotland Memorial.

“Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is an essential part of a chronic wound treatment plan,” Davis explained. “HBOT increases the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood, allowing oxygen to pass more easily through the plasma into the wounds to heal them. While inside the HBOT chamber, patients are surrounded with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. During treatment patients simply relax in the pressurized chamber.”

According to Davis, HBOT is effective in fighting certain types of infections, stimulates the growth of new blood vessels and improves circulation. The treatment is also used to treat crush injuries, osteomyelitis, skin grafts and flaps, brown recluse spider bites and diabetic wounds of the lower extremity.

With the addition of the HBOT, the Scotland Wound Healing Center will offer a more comprehensive program to manage problem wounds, officials said.

Nationally, approximately seven million people suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds — a serious disorder that can lead to amputation of limbs and dramatically impaired quality of life. Associated with inadequate circulation, poorly functioning veins and immobility, non-healing wounds occur most frequently in the elderly and in people with diabetes — populations that are sharply rising as the nation ages and chronic diseases increase.

The new wound healing center is located in the Community Health and Rehabilitation Center. The staff will begin utilizing the chambers for patient treatments on May 4, when the center opens.

An open house is planned for May 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. Community members are invited to tour the new center and learn more about this new service.

For more information about the Scotland Wound Healing Center, call Paula Davis at 291-7711.