PT Director Amy Robinson is Awarded Certified Wound Care Professional Degree

After completing roughly 40 hours of coursework and exams, Amy Robinson, MS, PT, CWCP, has become a Certified Wound Care Professional. Having treated wounds for several years, Robinson felt it was time to advance her degree and go the extra mile to receive the certification.

“I started this process in June and soon realized the material was very in-depth and took much longer than expected to get through all of it,” states Robinson. “In November, I had a free weekend and spent the final hours pouring through the material and taking exams.” Robinson successfully completed the wound care certification process and now feels confident in her ability to treat most wounds.

An estimated 6.7 million people in the US are affected by chronic wounds. That number is rising, fueled by an aging population and increasing rates of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. If left untreated, chronic wounds can lead to diminished quality of life, infection, and even amputation.

“We offer an evidence-based, individualized approach to wound care,” says Robinson regarding the care offered at the Rehab Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Robinson stresses the importance of timely care for patients with non-healing wounds. Each wound type involves different levels of management to heal properly. Any wound that seems to not make progress in healing and ‘gets stuck’ that wound probably needs this specialized, advanced level of wound care.

“We treat wounds as early as possible in order to achieve the best outcomes. We assess the wound, take measurements, and use specialized dressings in order to speed up the wound care process,” she explains. “We work together with the patient’s health care provider in order to develop the correct plan of care to accomplish the goals of full wound healing.”

Various factors can also affect the wound’s ability to heal. Anyone dealing with a chronic health issue, such as diabetes, cancer, pulmonary disease, thyroid issues, gastrointestinal diseases, or heart conditions, is more likely to encounter these complications. Lifestyle habits, such as smoking, obesity, etc., can also affect the progress in healing.

“We are also experienced with treating wounds using wound vacs which are very beneficial for larger, deeper wounds,” she adds. “We also take extra care to practice very sterile procedures and watch closely for any signs of infection. Often times patients come to us because they have an infection and in that case, we monitor and treat those issues as well.”

Signs of a wound infection may include drainage or drainage that smells bad, increased pain at the wound site, bleeding that will not stop, and even fever and chills. “Infections can be fatal and must be treated,” states Robinson. “Anyone with a wound who may be experiencing any of those symptoms should see their medical provider right away and be referred to our wound care clinic.”

For questions on wound care at Veterans Memorial Hospital, please contact the Rehabilitation Department at 568-3411.