Maggie McKay (Host): When you get a serious wound, taking care of it properly is crucial. So today, Dr. Alicia Haglund, Medical Director, Community Memorial Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, is here to talk about wound care and hyperbaric medicine.

Welcome to Wise and Well, presented by Community Memorial Healthcare. I'm Maggie MacKay. Thank you so much for joining us today, Dr. Haglund.

Dr Alicia Haglund: Thank you for having me.

Host: Absolutely. So to start, can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background and your experience in wound care and hyperbaric medicine?

Dr Alicia Haglund: Sure. As you said, my name is Dr. Alicia Haglund, and I am currently the Medical Director here at the Wound Care Center. I went to medical school at State University of New York in Syracuse, followed by a residency in actually Emergency Medicine at USC Medical Center. And when I shifted gears over to wound care, I did additional specialty training that is accepted by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society. I've been working here for over three years now, and I took over as the director last year.

Host: Can you provide an overview of Community Memorial Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Health Center and the services it offers?

Dr Alicia Haglund: Yes. And thank you for the opportunity to talk to our local providers and everyone who supports the care of our complicated wound care patients. We opened our doors in 2011 at Community Memorial Hospital. Our typical patient is over 65 and has at least three comorbidities. Our most common wounds are diabetic and venous ulcers, but we also see arterial ulcers, pressure ulcers, radiation injuries such as soft tissue radiation necrosis, and surgical wound dehiscence. Our services range from weekly debridements, compression therapy, negative pressure wound therapy such as wound VACs, total contact casting for offloading, advanced wound care products including skin substitutes such as placental based and human tissue. We also do hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Host: Wow, you cover it all. That's awesome. How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy help when speeding up the process of healing certain types of wounds?

Dr Alicia Haglund: Well, most people are familiar with hyperbaric oxygen in terms of treating decompression sickness. Here at the Wound Care Center, we use it in a different way. We use hyperbaric oxygen to promote oxygenation of the tissues. It also stimulates angiogenesis, decreases inflammation, and works in conjunction with antibiotics to fight infections.

Host: What sets your practice apart from other wound care centers in the area?

Dr Alicia Haglund: First and foremost, the quality of care here is outstanding. All our providers are trained in advanced wound care modalities. We see our patients weekly and bi-weekly. And by seeing them so frequently, we can take more of a holistic approach to them. Our staff works hard to coordinate care beyond just wound care. We help arrange appointments with primary doctors to manage diabetes, endocrinologists, specialists. We set up home health. We even facilitate transport. Our staff goes above and beyond to care for our patients. And on top of it, they're super friendly, really nice. It's a really great office.

Host: That's so important because I know the few times I've been to the hospital or the ER, it makes such a difference when they're patient and nice with you. And I don't blame them when they are cranky because, you know, what they do, but it really makes a difference, I think, to patients.

Dr Alicia Haglund: It makes a huge difference to patients to come into a warm, friendly, accommodating environment.

Host: Dr. Haglund, can you share a success story or an impactful patient case that illustrates the importance of wound care and hyperbaric medicine?

Dr Alicia Haglund: It's so hard to pick just one because we make such a difference with so many people. But recently I had a 65-year-old female. She was very active, ambulatory, but also had pretty poorly controlled diabetes and underlying peripheral artery disease. She unfortunately developed gangrene in her toes and underwent transmetatarsal amputation. After that amputation, she had some dehiscence of the wound. Given her really bad arterial disease, I did not think she was going to keep her foot. And the next amputation would have been a below the knee. But we got her in here at wound care. We started regular routine wound care. We used some advanced modalities called skin substitutes, which are placental derivatives to help stimulate the tissue to grow. We had her in hyperbaric oxygen therapy. At one point, we had a wound vac. We just pretty much used all our tools we had, and she is healed and back to her usual active lifestyle, and that was really great to see.

Host: wow. That's amazing. So, she lost a toe, but she could have lost her whole foot.

Dr Alicia Haglund: She lost all her toes, and the next amputation site would have been below the knee. So, we were really happy to be able to save her leg, so to speak. And that's something we really strive to prevent amputations.

Host: So, how can patients and their families or caregivers access services at the Wound Care Center? And do you need a referral?

Dr Alicia Haglund: Most of the time, you do not need a referral unless you have an HMO insurance. I would recommend just calling. Our number is 805-585-3086 and ask to get in. If you need a referral, we can help guide you as to how to get there.

Host: Would you like to give the number one more time?

Dr Alicia Haglund: It's 805-585-3086.

Host: And for the clinicians in our audience, what types of patients are well suited for your services and how can a provider refer a patient to your health center?

Dr Alicia Haglund: So, anybody who hasn't begun to heal within two weeks or hasn't completely healed within six weeks, patients who you know who have a lot of comorbidities, who are going to be harder to heal, go ahead and refer them early on, especially your diabetics, your people with poor circulation. Some patients, either elderly or patients on chronic steroids with very thin tissue and lots of skin tears, those take longer to heal too. Those are great patients to refer over. Most patients don't need a referral. It is dependent on the insurance. Call our office and we can get the patient in.

Host: Thank you so much, Dr. Haglund. This has been fascinating. I did not know much about hyperbaric medicine until now. But now, you have enlightened me and probably a lot of people listening.

Dr Alicia Haglund: Thank you.

Host: Again, that's Dr. Alicia Haglund. For more information, please visit mycmh.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out our entire library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. This is Wise and Well, presented by Community Memorial Healthcare. Thank you for listening.