Why Wound Care is Especially Important for the Elderly
For nearly 40 years, Princeton Health Care Center has provided its patients with chronic wound care on an as-needed basis. Our talented team understands chronic wounds are difficult to treat, and that treating them gets more difficult as our residents age. While treating a chronic wound takes time, our goal remains the same throughout the healing process – to usher our patients back to the highest level of comfort, function and independence possible.
Why Is Wound Care Important?
Treating any injury immediately is important, but it’s particularly so to prevent the injury from becoming a chronic wound. If you fail to seek treatment for a chronic wound, you may experience dire consequences. Infection, reduced or loss of function and loss of limb or life are all very real possibilities if a chronic wound isn’t treated properly.
We understand the importance of wound care, which is why our team takes quick, thoughtfully planned action when one of our patients has a chronic wound. Our healthcare providers are trained to treat complex and stubborn wounds that refuse to heal to restore patients’ health, well-being and function.
How Does Wound Management Work?
To put it simply, wound management basically attempts to do what a patient’s body would do on its own under comparatively “normal” circumstances. When healthy, a person’s body goes through four phases to heal a wound.
First, the body will stop the flow or loss of blood. Inflammation comes next, which is the body’s attempt to fight off harmful bacteria and debris around the wound site. Preventing infection and re-growing tissue occur in the third stage while the final phase is when the body returns to a normal state.
When a resident at our skilled nursing facility has a chronic wound, we evaluate the person’s condition on an individual basis. We then create a personalized treatment plan based on various factors, such as the patient’s wound, current health status, and medical history.
In some cases, a patient’s treatment plan may involve just antibiotics. Other cases may require more advanced types of treatment, such as blood-platelet growth and infusion, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, debridement or surgery.
Although the treatment plan we’ll create for you or your loved one will be highly personalized, it will have some things in common with every plan we create for each patient we treat for a chronic wound. Regular visits with an attending physician and check-ups performed by our caring, attentive staff are some of the things that are part of every chronic wound treatment plan at our welcoming, 120-bed nursing facility.
Connect With Our Skilled Nursing Facility
As a temporary or long-term resident of Princeton Health Care Center, you or your loved one will receive top-notch wound care as part of a holistic care plan that’s designed to restore your health, quality of life, function and independence. Contact us to schedule a tour of our facility and campus today!