Specialty service at Monroe Hospital celebrates one year of service
Hyperbaric Treatments Offered at Valley General

Monroe, WA – Year one was very successful for the Wound Healing Center at Valley General Hospital in Monroe. Since opening in January 2009, there have been more than 1500 patient visits, more than 80,000 minutes logged of 100% Oxygen Therapy in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning and chronic wounds such as diabetic wounds, necrotizing fasciitis and pressure ulcers. There are only a few hospitals in Washington State that provide hyperbaric treatments, and Valley General Hospital is one of them.

“There is such a wide variety of conditions and diseases that can benefit greatly from hyperbaric treatments,” states Dr. Jonathan Borjeson, Medical Director. Hyperbarics have been proven to help treat: diabetic foot ulcers, carbon dioxide poisoning, necrotizing fasciitis, skin grafts, tissue damage caused by radiation therapy and many others.

The hyperbaric chambers themselves look very high-tech, but the science behind the treatment is simple. The chamber surrounds the patient with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s blood and, in the case of wounds, allows red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it form the inside out.

The individual chambers are very comfortable. Patients lie down the entire 2-hour treatment and can watch TV, a movie or listen to music. Comfort is an important component to treatment, as treatments are generally 2 hours, 5 days a week for at least 4 – 6 weeks.

“Since patients need to be treated every day, for multiple weeks, offering it close to home is very important to the hospital,” states Sandie Howells, Clinic Director. “Even for patients coming to Monroe from out of the area, for most it is against traffic and the clinic itself is easy to access.” (Parking is directly outside and free.)

The Wound Healing Center at Valley General Hospital is open Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Talk to your physician about a referral. Patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans may self-refer to VGH. However, one of the center’s missions is to build relationships with patients’ primary care physicians. For more information, please contact 360-863-4655.

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