Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine

The latest partnership between St. Luke’s and Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital is bringing cutting-edge medicine to southwestern Idaho, with the new Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine.

The new center serves two distinct groups of people: physicians and their patients. “The center offers physicians a place to refer patients when they can no longer provide the daily, routine care required when wounds don’t heal,” says Vic Moretto, the center’s director.

The center features diagnostic capabilities such as transcutaneous oximetry, a machine with six multi-channel sensors placed around the wound to evaluate oxygen flow. This helps physicians determine the most appropriate course of treatment. And the center is staffed by multidisciplinary teams comprised of physicians, physical therapists, and registered nurses who specialize in wound care, offering patients advanced possibilities for wound healing.

Science Fiction, or Pure Science?

It may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the hyperbaric component of the new center is proven medicine for the treatment of a variety of conditions. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves enclosing the patient in a pressurized hyperbaric breathing chamber, where 100 percent pure oxygen is introduced (the environmental air we breathe is generally about 21 percent oxygen). Here’s how hyperbaric medicine works: Breathing 100 percent oxygen at two-to-three times the normal atmospheric pressure delivers 10 to 15 times as much oxygen to the tissues. This can increase oxygen flow to a wound, inducing formation of new capillaries that increase blood flow to the affected area, ultimately enhancing and speeding the healing process.

“Hyperbaric medicine is indicated for a variety of wound conditions,” says Moretto, “including but not limited to diabetic foot ulcers, skin grafts, crush injuries, radiation necrosis, and gas gangrene.” Hyperbaric chambers are also the treatment of choice for decompression sickness (most commonly seen in deep-sea divers), carbon monoxide poisoning, and smoke inhalation.

Hyperbaric therapy consists of daily, approximately two-hour sessions, for five to 25 days. Until the center opened in June, patients in the Boise area had to travel as far as Salt Lake City or Seattle, the nearest comprehensive centers. “We’re very excited about having this service in the Treasure Valley,” says Moretto. “Providing wound healing and hyperbaric medicine close to home is extremely beneficial to our patients and their families.”

The new Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine offers two clinics, one at Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise and another at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center. Currently, the Boise clinic features four monoplace (one patient) hyperbaric chambers, complete with 360-degree vision, two-way communication, and remote-control televisions to help the time pass quickly and comfortably. This fall, the Meridian clinic will also have hyperbaric chambers available.

To learn more about the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, talk with your doctor, or call 489-5800.

Meet the Co-Directors

Margaret Doucette, DO
Dr. Doucette is a graduate of the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, Des Moines. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Dr. Doucette is Co-Director, Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine. She also serves as Chief, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine Service and as Medical Director, PACT Program (Prevention of Amputation, High Risk Foot Clinic) at the Boise VA Medical Center. She is Medical Director, Wound Care Program, at the Life Care Center of Boise, and is a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Doucette has co-authored or authored several book chapters and journal articles, and participates in clinical research involving wound healing. She brings more than 20 years of rehabilitation, wound healing, and pain medicine experience to the new center. Dr. Doucette specializes in Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine and is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Eric Johnson, MD
Dr. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and completed his residency at Family Medicine Residency of Idaho. He is a member, and chairman of the board, of Emergency Medicine of Idaho, staffing St. Luke’s Regional and Meridian Medical Center Emergency Departments, and is president-elect of the Wilderness Medical Society. Dr. Johnson is a consulting physician for Divers Alert Network-Idaho, and the Boise Fire Department Dive Rescue Team. He is board certified in Family Medicine, and specializes in Emergency Medicine (since 1989), Hyperbaric Medicine, and Wilderness Medicine.