Patients in need of outpatient rehabilitation services or wound care services now have a convenient one-stop shop for their needs without having to make the trek to Savannah or Jacksonville. Beginning the last week of September 2007, Southeast Georgia Health System team members began seeing patients in the new Outpatient Rehabilitation and Wound Care Center. This new Center is conveniently located across the street from the Brunswick Campus at the corner of Hampton Avenue and Wildwood Drive in the building that formerly housed the Radiation Oncology Department.

“Our patients have told us they are extremely happy with our therapists. They like their warmth, their clinical skill, and their professionalism. The only request they had is that we make the location of our outpatient rehabilitation department more convenient, and we’ve done just that,” says DelRia Tate, System vice president.

above (left): The New Wound Care Center offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy that can be used
to treat nonhealing wounds. (right):The Outpatient Rehabilitation services in the new
center include state-of-the-art equipment and enhanced patient evaluation and treatment areas.

In addition to providing all of the current outpatient rehabilitation therapies in conjunction with partner Brooks Rehabilitation Services—adult and pediatric physical and occupational therapy, industrial medicine, and sports rehabilitation—Tate says state-of-the-art equipment, enhanced patient evaluation and treatment areas and better patient access have been added.

Additionally, sports performance enhancement services are now available. “We saw the need for this service among local athletes of all ages and wanted to provide it in a convenient location,” she says. “The new location will allow us to continue to expand our capabilities and services in conjunction with our partner Brooks Rehabilition.”

Tate adds that System administrators also listened to the needs of the community when they decided to expand the building that now houses the Center to make room for the wound care treatment area, which includes a hyperbaric chamber.

At any given time, almost six million Americans suffer from problem wounds that require the additional specialized treatment. The Center is staffed by trained professionals who specialize in the care of chronic wounds using the most up-to-date approaches and scientific advances. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also available to treat non-healing wounds, lower extremity diabetic wounds and crush injuries, as well as radiation tissue damage, acute traumatic injury, skin grafts and flaps and osteomyelitis—an infectious and usually painful inflammatory disease of the bone. Patients receiving this treatment breathe 100% oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. This quickly delivers high concentrations of oxygen to the bloodstream, which assists in the healing process.

“We are very excited to be working with Diversified Clinical Services to provide comprehensive wound care services to our patients,” Tate says. “Just as with our partner Brooks Rehabilitation, we feel that Diversified’s focus on clinical excellence is consistent with ours. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with Diversified and our area physicians to bring the best in wound care to our community.”