JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The experts at National Healing Corporation, the world’s largest provider of hospital based outpatient managed wound care centers, announced the staff at National Healing centers treated more than one million wounds in 2011 with a healing rate of 89 percent. The company’s overall amputation rate was just one percent.
According to a 2012 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of leg and foot amputations among older Americans with diabetes declined by 65 percent between 1996 and 2008. The CDC attributes the decline to early diabetes diagnosis as well as better treatment and preventative care.
Helping to prevent lower extremity amputations on a daily basis, each of the more than 500 National Healing centers is staffed with highly trained physicians and clinicians who treat chronic wounds, many of which are caused by diabetes.
“The decrease in lower extremity amputations is very encouraging but there is still a great deal of work to be done,” said Scott Covington, M.D., F.A.C.S., C.H.W.S., executive vice president of medical affairs for National Healing Corporation. Covington went on to say, “The rise in obesity and the growth of the aging population results in more diabetics and a higher number of diabetic wounds. It is imperative that we educate patients and families about the advanced treatments available to prevent amputation.”
The first step to preventing amputation is awareness. Comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation rates by 45 percent to 85 percent so it is important for diabetics to wear proper footwear, inspect their feet daily and take extra care when trimming nails and treating cuts, scrapes and blisters.
If you or someone you know has a wound that has not responded to traditional treatment, there is help available. Through a multi-disciplinary approach and advanced treatments such as skin substitutes and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, amputation may be avoided. For a National Healing wound care center near you, please call 1-800-373-HEAL (4325).
About National Healing Corporation
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., National Healing Corporation is the largest provider of wound care and related disease management in the country. National Healing manages more than 500 wound care centers in more than 10 percent of the hospitals in the nation. The company provides hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, home health care and physician management with the innovation, resources and talent to provide more patients with affordable access to life-saving wound care. For more information, please visit www.nationalhealing.com.