WoundCentrics to Attend NALTH in San Antonio April 20-21

WoundCentrics, of New Braunfels, Texas, has announced that it will be attending the National Association of Long Term Hospitals (NALTH) Spring Conference  April 20th and 21st in San Antonio, Texas.  WoundCentrics is a NALTH corporate partner at the Advocate level and will have a marketing display at the NALTH meeting to provide information to member Hospitals and conference attendees about its in-patient wound care services program.

“We believe in supporting NALTH’s mission of advocacy, education andresearch and recognize the importance  of networking with member Hospitals regarding current trends in the healthcare environment,” stated Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating Officer for WoundCentrics.  “With the changes in LTAC rules and the challenges that LTAC facilities face with wound care patients, we believe our in-patient wound care services program is unique and more important than ever to ensure integrated specialized services that will help align the facility with other providers in their communities,” Oertli said.

“NALTH provides a great opportunity for our clinical and management team at WoundCentrics to learn about the long term care clinical and financial changes and reimbursement challenges.   NALTH provides interaction opportunities with LTAC administrators tasked with delivering quality care in a tight financial environment,” stated Marcus Gitterle, MD, Chief Executive Officer for WoundCentrics.

The National Association of Long Term Hospitals (NALTH) is a national association representing acute long-term care hospitals and patients. A member-driven organization, NALTH supports a collegial process when focusing on goals in the areas of advocacy, education, research and networking. NALTH fosters open and ongoing dialogue with governmental policy makers.  Plan now to attend the NALTH Annual Meeting in order to put long term care policy challenges and solutions into perspective. Industry leaders and experts will highlight industry changes and effects on hospitals, systems and patients.

The NALTH Spring Conference is scheduled for April 20th and 21st, 2017  at the Hilton Palacio  Del Rio Hotel,  200 South Alamo Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205

WoundCentrics providing Wound Care Services in the El Paso Long Term Acute Care Hospital

WoundCentrics, based in New Braunfels, Texas, has contracted to provide wound care services at the El Paso LTAC Hospital in Central El Paso beginning October 1, 2016.

WoundCentrics is an industry leader in training and managing clinical specialists as physicians and nurse practitioners to provide daily wound care services. Patients at El Paso LTAC Hospital that present with a chronic problem wound will have their care coordinated by a WoundCentrics specialist in conjunction with the Hospital medical and nursing staff.

“Our goal is to provide a high level of care focused on the wound problems of the patients at El Paso LTAC Hospital. Our program will align the facility, patient, therapy goals and family expectations for best outcomes for those patients that we help manage at the Hospital,” stated Dr. Marcus Gitterle, CEO and Medical Director for WoundCentrics. “Quality care and program integration of services for the patients well being will be managed with the hospital physicians and nursing team at El Paso LTAC Hospital.” Gitterle said.

For more information about WoundCentrics go to: www.woundcentrics.com

WoundCentrics announces expanding services with Warm Springs in San Antonio

WoundCentrics has announced an agreement to implement its specialized wound care services program at 4 facilities in the San Antonio area including the newly opened Post Acute Medical Specialty Hospital of San Antonio, Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of San Antonio, Warm Springs Hospital Rehabilitation Hospital of Thousand Oaks, Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of Westover Hills, and assume management responsibilities for the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of San Antonio outpatient Wound & Hyperbaric program.

Following the formal transition to the new clinical team at these facilities, WoundCentrics will be holding a series of open-house events in the wound care center, at which time the medical community and the community at large can tour the Warm Springs facilities and meet our new Medical Director and Program Director.

“WoundCentrics provides quality wound care services in 8 other Post Acute Medical hospitals, and more than 80 facilities of all types, in four states,” stated Dr. Marcus Gitterle, WoundCentrics Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer. “We believe deeply in the value of integration, and the best patient care is delivered within deeply integrated systems that span the continuum, from diagnosis through discharge.”

Treatment for chronic wounds simulates being 33 feet below sea level

See the video below for our very own Dr Mitchel speaking to HBOT in our Round Rock location.

WoundCentrics welcomes Donna Willemsen

Donna has been a registered nurse for more than 30 years with experience in multiple areas, including 7 years of experience working in a LTAC setting. She has worked full time with wounds and ostomies for the last 10 years, which lead to a key role in organizing and opening a wound care center that has consistently achieved healing rates of 96% or higher.

Donna has multiple certifications which include CWS (certified wound specialist), CWOCN (certified wound ostomy continence nurse) and CFCN (certified foot care nurse) and will be beginning a FNP program this fall through Texas State University.

Donna's role with WoundCentrics will be muti-faceted. She will be involved in the wound care fellowship training program, and will serve as a resource for all WoundCentrics providers in all settings, and will provide pre-op and post-op ostomy teaching to patients of contracted physicians and in contracted facilities. Additionally, she will be responsible for developing education modules, including various courses with CNE credits through the TNA to be available to our contracted partners. 

WoundCentrics to provide wound care services for Cornerstone Hospital in Round Rock, TX

Recognizing the need for consistent physician services in the outpatient setting and a concerted, programmatic approach to wound care for inpatients, Cornerstone Hospital of Austin/Round Rock has entered into an agreement with WoundCentrics , a national leader in providing advanced wound care programs and services across the continuum of care, to provide these programs starting July 1, 2016.

For many years the long-term acute care hospital’s place in the health care continuum has not been well recognized in the Austin metropolitan market. Under the current leadership of Curt Roberts (Austin and Market CEO) and Brant Robinson (Round Rock Administrator), Cornerstone’s team has worked to educate local providers about the differentiators of the LTAC from other acute and post-acute settings and the message has been well-received. However, challenges remained and some programs were not functioning as well as hoped. One of those programs was the outpatient wound care and hyperbarics center at the Round Rock facility.

Upon meeting Dr. Marcus Gitterle, CEO of WoundCentrics, to discuss their concerns regarding the outpatient services at the Round Rock facility it became apparent that inpatient services where not yet fully optimized and large financial opportunities were being missed.  Further, with payment reform coming later in the year, Dr. Gitterle explained WoundCentrics’ approach to providing management services to LTAC facilities to help them prepare for and implement strategies for accepting and profiting from shorter-stay patients reimbursed under the blended payment model.

Learning of WoundCentrics’ unique ability to provide physician services in the outpatient clinic, optimize current inpatient wound care operations and help prepare for looming changes in the next cost-reporting year, Cornerstone found the case presented by Dr. Gitterle a compelling one and we are pleased to be proceeding as partners in success. As demonstrated with LTAC facilities throughout the United States, WoundCentrics looks forward to working with the leadership and staff of Cornerstone Hospital in Round Rock to provide clinically excellent service and outcomes for patients while cutting costs and enhancing the financial outcomes for the hospital.

Click (HERE) if your facility seeks to create a highly-successful, modern wound care program (inpatient, outpatient or both). Exploring the opportunity to enhance annual revenues by $1 million or more at your facility is free of obligation and completely confidential.

WoundCentrics expands LTAC partnerships into Georgia and Wisconsin

Columbus Specialty Hospital in Columbus, GA and WoundCentrics are pleased to announce their partnership in creating a systems-driven inpatient wound care and outreach program to provide clinical services to patients with wounds throughout the community. Licensed for 50 beds, Columbus Specialty is the only long-term acute care hospital in the city.

Bobby Saulnier, CEO of Columbus Specialty, recognized with mandated changes in admission criteria and reimbursement for wound patients it would be necessary for the hospital to find a partner to help successfully navigate the new realities of wound care. While attending the NALTH wound care conference last fall, Mr. Saulnier attended a presentation by Dr. Marcus Gitterle, CEO of WoundCentrics, that specifically addressed his concerns and led directly to the creation of the new partnership.

Dr. Robert Daniels, a General Surgeon and trained Hyperbaricist, who has decades of wound care experience is the local leader of the program. Lakeisha Dixon, FNP-C, will be on site at the facility daily as the medical provider for inpatients.

Post Acute Medical Specialty Hospital of Milwaukee, WI represents the seventh hospital in the Post Acute Medical system to partner with WoundCentrics. The 54-bed licensed facility is led by CEO Christine Peterson and is a relatively new acquisition for Post Acute Medical.

Recognizing the success of wound care program partnerships with WoundCentrics in other facilities and the Milwaukee facility’s needs for a coordinated, systems-driven approach, the decision to collaborate proved a natural fit.

Dr. Niraj Sawhney is a hyperbarics trained, Infectious Disease specialist with a long history of affiliation with the facility. He is serving as Medical Director of the wound care program. Tiffany Schwabe, FNP-BC is the on-site daily wound care provider.

For more information on how WoundCentrics can provide wound care solutions for your facility, please contact us by using this form.

WoundCentrics’ COO to Participate in Astellas Pharma, US Transitions of Care National Broadcast Panel

WoundCentrics’ Chief Operating Officer, Stuart Oertli, was invited by Astellas Pharma to participate in the company’s national broadcast for transitions of care for patients with invasive fungal infections. Given his background in healthcare administration throughout the acute and post-acute continuum of care, Oertli was a natural fit to discuss the challenges faced by healthcare providers in ensuring timely, safe and cost-effective transitions of care. The panel also includes Dr. Mark Levis, an oncologist from Johns Hopkins, Melissa Johnson, an infectious disease pharmacist from Duke University Medical Center and Laura Ostrowsky, Director of Case Management at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Although the program is specifically geared towards transitions of care for patients with invasive fungal infections, the material applies to antimicrobial stewardship and transitions through the continuum of care in general. Antimicrobial stewardship is a growing concern in healthcare and a focus for WoundCentrics given our role across the post-acute continuum of care.

WoundCentrics’ new ABX Steward program engages clinicians, including both physicians and pharmacists, as well as healthcare administrators to utilize CDC recommendations and evidence based practices in their antimicrobial prescribing practices.

Utilizing state-of-the-art software, ABX Steward enables your facility to capture key clinical data and deliver HIPAA-compliant patient information to our on-call panel of world-class antibiotic stewardship experts. Their best-practice recommendation is then delivered to the facility within one business day.

Unlike on-site ID physician-based programs, ABX Steward is extremely cost-effective. Whereas typical on-site programs are associated with hefty, per-hour review fees and schedule-based review timing, the ABX Steward system is always ready for consultation and monthly system costs are a fraction of typical on-site review programs.

To view the Astrellas Pharma, US Transitions of Care national broadcast this Thursday, April 14th, you can click on this link www.AstellasNB.com to register.

To find out more about ABX Steward, please call 210/701-0909 or click here to reach the Contact page on our website.

WoundCentrics adds Director of Operations

The WoundCentrics Operations team is excited to announce a new member – Stephanie Lawhon, RN. 

Stephanie has more than 14 years of extensive experience in the skilled nursing facility setting. During this time she has served as a floor nurse with exposure to wound care and later as an assistant to the Administrator where she developed a thorough understanding of SNF regulations/guidelines. 

For the past 6 years she has served as Nurse Manager at St. David’s (Georgetown, TX) in the inpatient rehabilitation hospital where she was instrumental in achieving tremendous success in outcomes for patients and in employee engagement.

Stephanie’s role with WoundCentrics will be multi-faceted. She is charged with further enhancement of the WoundCentrics wound care fellowship training program and training and education at contracted facilities. In addition, she will support WoundCentrics providers and facilities through regular on-site visit as well as perform business development activities for the WoundCentrics Outreach program.

Welcome, Stephanie!!

WoundCentrics and Warm Springs Specialty Hospital of Luling expand partnership.

Warm Springs Specialty Hospital in Luling, Texas.

WoundCentrics has recently assumed clinical responsibility for the outpatient wound care and hyperbarics clinic at Warm Springs Specialty Hospital in Luling, Texas.

Jana Kuykendoll, CEO of Warm Springs – Luling remarked, “the long-standing partnership between our facility and WoundCentrics in servicing the inpatient population for wound care has been a great success. When it came time to make a change in providers servicing the outpatient clinic, we looked at two things: 1) the experience we have had with WoundCentrics and 2) the demonstrated expertise of WoundCentrics in outpatient wound care and hyperbarics. These two factors made the decision to expand our partnership with WoundCentricsto include outpatient services an easy one and we are confident based on the early results that it was the right decision.”