BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — Massena Hospital will soon have a new care center as work continues to renovate facilities formerly used by Respiratory Therapy services.

The new Wound Care Center will be on the lower level of Massena Hospital’s western side.

Officials say the total cost of the project will be $1.2 million.

“St. Lawrence Health does not currently have a formal Wound Care Service line,” said Massena Hospital President David Bender.

“The new Wound Care Center will have a positive impact on the regional community, and on St. Lawrence Health as a whole. Patients will be allowed to remain closer to home and to their local providers.”

The Wound Center will have multiple forms of treatment available, including two hyperbaric chambers, along with five exam rooms, two provider offices, a waiting area, reception station and nurses stations.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is used to treat several conditions, including anemia, arterial gas embolism, crush injuries, gas gangrene, failed grafts and flaps, delayed radiation injuries, intracranial abscess, necrotizing soft tissue infections, and refractory osteomyelitis, according to Rochester Regional Health’s Unity Wound Care Center Practice Manager Sharon Gavenda.

Officials also say along with HBOT, other treatments at the center would include debridement and dressing changes.