The Center for Wound Care Management at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital is the recipient of the Center of Distinction Award presented by Diversified Clinical Services in recognition of outstanding clinical and patient satisfaction results for 12 consecutive months.

The center was compared with 263 other centers across the country and was the only California facility to receive the distinction.

Eight million people in the United States suffer from chronic wounds. With an aging population, increase in diabetes and an obesity epidemic, more people are incurring hard-to-heal wounds and are at risk for amputations.

A chronic or hard-to-heal wound is one that does not respond to normal medical care within 30 days. The variety and complexity of chronic wounds requires specialized care. Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital partners with Diversified Clinical Services, based in Jacksonville, Fla., to provide specialized treatments through the Center for Wound Care Management. The center opened in April 2006 and is the only comprehensive center of its kind between the Bay Area and Camarillo.

A critical component of the healing process is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. HBO treatments accelerate the process of healing by enabling patients to breathe 100 percent oxygen in pressurized chambers. It is recognized as an important adjunct therapy in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds and amputation prevention.

There are two hyperbaric oxygen chambers at the GVCH Center for Wound Care Management.

Patient satisfaction, healing rates and clinical outcomes were factors in receiving the award.

In the past 12 months, the Center for Wound Care Management has performed more than 5,500 wound treatments and 1,700 hyperbaric treatments, and it has served more than 2,200 patients.

The physicians and staff of the center significantly exceeded the benchmarks in all areas for each of the past 12 consecutive months.

“This is a huge acknowledgement to our dedication to the highest level of care and a recognition of us truly being a center of excellence in the state of California,” said Susan San Marco, program director for the Center for Wound Care Management and clinical manager for Skin, Wound and Ostomy Therapy at Cottage.

— Maria Zate is the marketing and public affairs manager for Cottage Health System.