June is Wound Care Awareness Month.
An official with Comanche County Memorial Hospital Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine said they treat many patients with diabetes or venous leg ulcers and get wounds that just won’t heal on their own.
Angela Shelton, the program director at Comanche County Memorial Hospital Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine, said when treating a patient’s wound, they try to determine why it’s there and why it won’t heal. She said sometimes they refer patients to cardiology to see if there’s good blood flow in their legs.
“We’re all a big team,” Shelton said. “It’s not just wound care. It’s not just the wound care providers here, but it’s the cardiologist, it’s the podiatrist, we’re all together in trying to get those patients’ wounds healed.”
But, it’s not just the doctors and staff who are responsible for healing a sore.
“The patient has to do their part as well,” she said. “They have to be compliant with whatever the physician orders, and so it’s really like I said before, we’re all a big team – including the patient.”
Comanche County Memorial Hospital Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine has seen great results through its team effort. In 2024, their healing rate was 85%, their patient satisfaction rate was 95% and the patients having wounds past their projected healing rate were at just 8%.
Shelton said diabetic patients tend to have a lot of issues with wounds.
“Especially those that can’t control their blood sugar because if the blood sugar is out of control, then the wound is not going to heal like it should,” Shelton said.
Those with a diagnosis where they might have trouble should be seen as soon as they realize they’re having problems.
“You really need to be seen at that moment that you know that it’s open, and it’s draining because the quicker we get to it, the faster we can get it healed,” she said.
Shelton said they can go to them after being referred by their doctor or by doing a self-referral. She said some insurances allow self-referral while others don’t.
Copyright 2025 KSWO. All rights reserved.