WoundCentrics is a Visionary Partner for the Spring 2019 NALTH Clinical Conference

WoundCentrics will be a major sponsor and exhibitor at the National Association of Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals (NALTH) Spring 2019 LTCH Clinical Education & Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 1 to Friday, May 3rd in Las Vegas at the Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

WoundCentrics is a Visionary Partner with NALTH, which is the highest level of sponsorship, and includes participating in the Table Top Topics sessions by providing WoundCentrics management as guest faculty. The Visionary Partnership also includes participating in the Vendor Exhibits that will offer information on the WoundCentrics clinical and business model, advertising in the conference program and having company personnel attend the Spring Conference educational programs.

The theme for WoundCentrics at the NALTH Spring Conference will be a focus on the company’s clinical wound care services provided in the LTACH.

Advanced Wound Care designed for the LTACH

Wound care is a unique challenge and focus for the medical staff and management in every LTACH due to the high acuity and complex patients admitted to the long-term acute care hospitals. WoundCentrics has developed a specialized wound care program specifically designed for the LTACH.

The WoundCentrics model provides fully-aligned wound care specialist providers which complements the current day LTACH model. Our program features:

✓ Daily rounding by WoundCentrics Providers

✓ Improved clinical outcomes

✓ Reduce re-admissions

✓ Standardize formulary for cost containment

✓ Optimizing length of stay and revenue opportunities.

Our wound care program is system-based with daily provider rounds and coordinated case management. We deliver maximum value by assuring that all services which can be effectively delivered within the LTACH are available at the bedside. This prevents case cherry-picking by non-aligned providers, sharply reduces outmigration due to wound-related complications as well as transfers to other facilities for surgical debridement.

Let’s talk at the NALTH Spring Conference 2019 about the WoundCentrics wound care program. Our goal is to establish your LTACH as a true center of excellence, while improving length of stay, controlling costs and maximizing profitability with LTACH compliant admissions.

WoundCentrics and Rush Health System Align to deliver Wound Care Services in the Community

The Rush Health System, located in Meridian, Mississippi and WoundCentrics, based in New

Braunfels,Texas, have announced a Specialized Wound Care Services agreement to provide

clinical care and management services beginning in January 2018.

The Rush Health System is comprised of seven hospitals and more that fifty specialty and

primary care practices serving the citizens of East Central Mississippi and West Alabama.

WoundCentrics will focus on three areas in the Rush Health System including in-patient wound

care services in the 215 bed Rush Foundation Hospital. WoundCentrics will begin to manage the

outpatient Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center January 1, 2019. And, the WoundCentrics

wound care specialist providers will deliver wound care services, including procedures, to the

patients of the Specialty Hospital of Meridian, a 49-bed long-term acute care hospital.

The Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center at Rush Foundation Hospital was established in 1997 to

provide advanced wound care to patients with chronic or slow to heal wounds. The outpatient

wound center is staffed by Medical Director Dr. Johnathan Lee and Dr. Kevin Ward and Ellen

Taylor, Nurse Practioner, Reggie Stewart, Program Director and the trained nursing and

hyperbaric technicians.

WoundCentrics will manage the Wound Care clinic program, provide clinical training and fully

integrate the wound program into the continuum of care in the Rush system.

“We are pleased to be a partner with the Rush Health System and align our efforts to deliver

quality, advanced wound care services in the system,” stated Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating

Officer. “Our mid-level providers will team up with the current physicians and clinical staff to

focus on the wound care patients in the community and assist Rush with their goal of delivering

quality care.”

WoundCentrics is a 12 year old national wound care company that operates Wound Care

Centers, employees, trains and manages wound care physicians and providers and offers

clinical service agreements in Hospitals, Long Term Acute Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospitals and

Skilled Nursing Homes.

Wound Care Specialists of America Merges with WoundCentrics of New Braunfels, Texas

Wound Care Specialists of America of Lubbock, Texas, announced that it has merged with

WoundCentrics, LLC of New Braunfels, Texas effective October 1, 2018. The new entity will continue

operating as WoundCentrics, LLC and consolidate the most of its operations to a new corporate office to

be constructed in New Braunfels, Texas with expected completion in late 2019.

Wound Care Specialists was formed in 2009 and manages hospital based and physician owned wound

care & hyperbaric medicine clinics. Wound Care Specialists started with the acquisition of 2 Christus

hospital wound center contracts and has grown to managing 4 Christus hospital programs, including

both inpatient and outpatient wound care services.

WoundCentrics was formed in 2012 in New Braunfels, Texas, operating with a provider-based model

focusing primarily on post acute wound care services to Long Term Acute Care Hospitals.

WoundCentrics has grown from its first single LTACH location to 27 Long Term Acute Care Hospital

clients located in 14 states and provides its specialized wound care services to numerous Skilled Nursing

Facilities, Rehabilitation Hospitals, and Acute Care Hospitals. The merged companies will also operate 13

outpatients wound and hyperbaric centers.

“Wound Care Specialists merging with WoundCentrics will allow both companies to create synergies and

operate under one umbrella in the markets we serve together,” stated Rodney Franklin, MD, CEO of

WoundCentrics. “WoundCentrics will have a larger footprint in the wound care market and allow for us

to serve our clients better and afford our team more resources for scaling our clinical and business

operations.” Dr. Franklin explained.

Stuart Oertli, WoundCentrics Chief Operating Officer, shared his thoughts on the merger saying “it is an

exciting time for the company as we grow, starting new partnerships and expanding others. While such

rapid growth can be challenging at times, we have seen how much our services mean to the patients

and organizations we serve.”

Landmark Hospitals of Cape Girardeau and Columbia, Missouri Add WoundCentrics Inpatient Wound Services

WoundCentrics, LLC, of New Braunfels, Texas, continues to grow its relationship with Landmark

Hospital Corporation of Naples, Florida. WoundCentrics announced that it started its

contracted inpatient specialized Wound Care Services program at the Landmark Hospitals in

Cape Girardeau and Columbia, Missouri.

“Providing our specialized inpatient wound care services program in Cape Girardeau and

Columbia will provide consistent wound care in the Missouri facilities associated with

Landmark,” according to Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating Officer of WoundCentrics. “We value

our relationship with Landmark and expanding in to the Missouri facilities will ensure quality,

consistent specialized wound care and excellent outcomes.”

Landmark Hospital of Cape Girardeau is a 30-bed Critical Care facility and operates as a joint

venture between Landmark Holdings of Missouri, LLC, and Saint Francis Medical Center located

at 3255 Independence Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Landmark Hospital of Columbia is located just off I-70 at 604 Old 63 North, Columbia, Missouri

and is a free standing 42-bed critical care facility.

WoundCentrics also provides wound care services to the Landmark Hospital in Joplin, Missouri

and now delivers a high level of consistent, specialized wound services to all of Landmark’s

facilities in Missouri.

And, according to the Landmark website, “Landmark provides solutions for patients who face a

hospital discharge, yet still require acute medical care. Our patients may simply need additional

time to recover from an illness or injury, or they may present medically complex cases that

require a multi-disciplinary approach to extended acute healthcare. Our patients require a

higher level of care for a longer period than the average hospital offers; but they are not yet

ready to transfer to a sub-acute care facility, such as a skilled nursing facility, or to be

discharged. During this critical time, we bring exciting new technologies and experienced

management to bear on our primary task – providing our patients with the best medical care

available as they continue on their journey toward healing.”

The WoundCentrics specialized wound care services is designed to care for those critically ill

patients that develop complex, challenging wounds and is now a part of the Landmark focus on

clinical excellence for their patients.

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WoundCentrics Launches Wound Services Program at ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Paducah

WoundCentrics, LLC, of New Braunfels, Texas, has announced that it has recently launched its Specialized Wound Care Services program at ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Paducah, a Long Term Acute Hospital (LTACH) located in Paducah, Kentucky.

The WoundCentrics program will focus on aligning the wound care team at the 37-bed LTACH located, within Baptist Health in Paducah, which began in July 2018.  Dr. Peter Ward, a Plastic Surgeon in Paducah, is leading the clinical delivery of the WoundCentrics specialized wound services program and has completed advanced wound care training with the company and he is currently treating wound care patients at ContinueCARE Hospital in Paducah.

“Working with the management and clinical team at ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Paducah, our wound care program will provide a wound care specialist physician who will round in the hospital daily and deliver clinical expertise for the Hospital’s wound service program,” according to Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating Officer at WoundCentrics.

Len McDade, Chief Executive Officer at ContinueCARE Hospital at Baptist Health Paducah stated “as a hospital-within-a-hospital, located in the Baptist Health Hospital in Paducah, we are a separate yet fully licensed acute-care hospital with the ability to provide intensive and complex medical treatment. Our specialty programs are specifically designed to meet the needs of long-term, acute-care patients. The Wound Centrics wound program will increase our focus on patients with serious, complex wounds and our ability to provide high level wound care for our patients,” he explained.

“Our community and the region are fortunate to have a long-term acute care hospital to care for patients with complex medical conditions including providing expertise for complex wounds,” Len McDade stated.  “We provide high quality care in a compassionate environment for very sick patients – every day.   WoundCentrics will assist in our daily goals to provide the best care possible for patients with complex wounds.”

ContinueCARE Hospital, located at 2501 Kentucky Avenue, 5th Floor, Paducah, Kentucky 42003, serves the needs of patients with medically complex conditions, especially those suffering from multisystem complications and needing extended recovery times – often 25 days or more.  The ability to provide these specialized services is possible through cooperation between Baptist Health Paducah and CHC ContinueCARE of Plano, Texas.

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Darlene Carey - Vice President of Operations

August 20, 2018-- New Braunfels, TX -- WoundCentrics welcomes Darlene Carey to its leadership team as the new Vice President of Operations.  Carey brings more than 30 years of experience in center level and corporate operations, as well as, an extensive background in process design and reengineering, business modeling, and financial management.  Carey succeeds Connor Parker who will be relocating to Georgia with his extended family.

“Darlene is an excellent addition to the WoundCentric’s  leadership team,” Stuart Oertli, COO said. “Darlene’s extensive experience in every area of wound  care and hyperbaric operations aligns perfectly with WoundCentric’s overall mission. Her expertise in both operations and quality will allow us to successfully continue the rapid growth we have been experiencing without sacrificing the outcomes our hospital and post-acute care partners expect.”

Most recently, Carey served as a senior member of the leadership team at Precision Health Care. The central focus of her role was strategic planning which shaped and directed cross-functionality of the team that lead to enhanced clinical outcomes.   Maintaining collaborative and consultative client relationships, integrating programs within the hospital organization and creating effective working relationships is what Carey is known for within our industry.

Carey holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Delta State University as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Southern Mississippi.  Carey has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing, teaching undergraduates and executive BBA students at Delta State University. Carey is often invited to participate as a speaker for a variety of topics in related to quality and reimbursement in the wound care and hyperbaric industry including most recently at the 2017 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC).

Landmark Hospital of Joplin focus on Wound Care adds WoundCentrics Specialty Services

Landmark Hospital of Joplin, a 30-bed long term acute care facility that focuses on acutely ill patients
that require a longer in-patient stay, has contracted with WoundCentrics of New Braunfels, Texas to
provide a specialized wound care program to build on the current wound care team.
“We are pleased to work with the outstanding administrative and clinical team at Landmark Joplin,
“stated Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating Officer, for WoundCentrics. “Our wound care services program
and specialty trained providers will provide an emphasis on wound care that will complement the local
wound care team and raise the bar for advanced wound care and patient outcomes in the local market.
The Landmark Hospital of Joplin is the fourth Landmark owned facility to add the WoundCentrics wound
services program to their clinical offering. Landmark Corporation owns and manages seven critical care
Hospitals in the country.
For more information on the Landmark Hospital of Joplin facility go to
www.landmarkhospitals.com/critical-care-hospital-system/critical-care-hospital-joplin-mo/
For more information on WoundCentrics go to www.woundcentrics.com

WoundCentrics, LLC CMO Marcus Gitterle, M.D. Presents at TMF Quality Institute Event, April 2018

Marcus Gitterle, M.D. presented "Antibiotic Stewardship in Wound Care" at the TMF Health Quality Institute QIN-QIO Event on April 11, 2018. Dr. Gitterle focused on actionable strategies for optimizing antibiotic utilization and improving outcomes in high-risk populations. 

Gleaned from his experiences as an Antibiotic Stewardship champion in the Christus Santa Rosa Hospital system in the San Antonio region, Dr. Gitterle presented to the audience of approximately 300 physicians and healthcare administrators strategies such as improving integration between the Emergency Department, HOPDs, ID consultants, and Hospitalist teams.

In addition, Dr. Gitterle presented data on the use of advanced PCR-based diagnostic strategies to improve outcomes over conventional microbial identification technologies, and rubrics for improving case management in non-infectious conditions commonly misdiagnosed as skin infections.

The TMF QIN-QIO works with health care providers in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico to improve care for patients. Email: tmfqin@tmf.org

WoundCentrics Continues Advocate Level Sponsorship at the NALTH Spring 2018 Clinical Education & Annual Meeting

WoundCentrics of New Braunfels, Texas, has it Advocate level support as a sponsor of the National Association of Long Term Hospitals (NALTH) Spring 2018 Spring Clinical Education & Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana Thursday April 5th and Friday April 6th.

The NALTH bi-annual conference event will be held at Hyatt Centric French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. and will focus on the initiative to move to a unified payment system and the new qualification rules for patients.

WoundCentrics is an established Advocate Level Sponsor of NALTH and will have a marketing booth in the display area at the Fall Leadership Conference to discuss their Specialized Wound Care Program designed specifically for the LTACH and Post Acute facilities.

The Program will feature speaker programs on:

Coordinating Care in the LTACH / Management and Timely Transition for Complex Patients

Managing Access & Utilization in the LTACH – Continuum of Care Solutions for Complex Patients

LTACH Coding Update:  Coding Overview and Issues

Data Element Standardization and the IMPACT Act of 2014

LTACH Regulatory Update

NALTH Research Policy and Advocacy – Lane Koenig, PhD

“WoundCentrics continues to evolve its strategies for promoting quality, profitability and improved patient outcomes related to wound care in acute and post acute care,” explained Stuart Oertli, Chief Operating Officer for WoundCentrics.   “As CMS shifts its post-acute care reimbursement strategies, we have observed that compliant patients with wound care needs are being admitted at and even higher rate than before payment reform, presenting an ongoing opportunity for the LTACH to be paid for providing appropriate wound care.

Oertli continued, “Maximizing reimbursement from these patients is one of the few proven ways to offset the revenue lost due to recent payment reform and NALTH has proven a key strategy for WoundCentrics to stay informed and ahead of the changes to ensure ongoing success for our clients.

Supporting NALTH is just one of the many ways we stay involved and informed on the constantly evolving regulatory and clinical care changes affecting LTACHs.”

WoundCentrics was formed in 2012 to provide aligned wound care services in the post acute market.  We now provide services in 8 states and more than 30 hospitals.

WoundCentrics Re-Opens Cornerstone-Bellaire Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center

The Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine at Cornerstone Hospital of Bellaire has recently reopened after being closed for the past six months due to damage sustained by the hospital facility during Hurricane Harvey. The center is now providing wound care and hyperbaric services under the management of WoundCentrics, LLC, of New Braunfels, Texas. The Wound & Hyperbaric Center is located on the ground floor of Cornerstone Hospital of Bellaire at 5314 Dashwood Drive in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Carlos Murillo, of Murillo Plastic Surgery, will serve as Medical Director and will lead a team of wound care specialists at the Bellaire Center.  In addition, wound care specialists currently providing services at the Cornerstone Bellaire Clinic include, Salman Aly, M.D., Sarfranz Aly, M.D., James Bonar, M.D., Alpash Patel, DPM, Nina Fonteneaux, FNP-C  and Leah Moreau-Murillo, FNP-C. All of our clinical providers are specialty trained in wound care and hyperbaric oxygen medicine.

Chronic wounds affect more than 8 million people in the U.S. and the incidence is rising, fueled by an aging population and increasing rates of diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, vascular conditions, and the late effects of radiation therapy.

The Cornerstone Outpatient Wound and Hyperbaric Center offers a number of treatments in addition to hyperbaric oxygen therapy including  advanced modalities such as UltraMist and bioengineered skin substitutes, as well as traditional therapies such as negative pressure/wound vac treatment, excisional and nonexcisional debridement, off-loading and compression therapy.

Our wound care experts will identify the underlying conditions that could prevent normal wound healing and provide individualized care plans and technologies to treat and heal wounds as well as provide wellness education for patients to prevent future wounds.

By providing outpatient wound care in the community, patients benefit from having access to advanced modalities and a physician-led wound care program. Cornerstone Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center is available to treat wound patients after hospital discharge,  or to see patients that have returned to home or are residing in a post-acute facility.

The Wound Care & Hyperbaric Clinic at Cornerstone Bellaire is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday and is located at 5314 Dashwood Drive, Houston, Texas 77081.   Call (713) 295-5326 to schedule an appointment. Patients can self-refer or their attending physician can refer to the Cornerstone Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center.   

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