MyChart
Wound Healing Center in McCall making a difference, and patient numbers skyrocket
Patrick Phillips didn't think too much about his aching feet. After all, he’s worked in construction for 35 years and has spent a career on his feet.
But that changed when an ulcer on the pad of his right foot ruptured. He made an appointment with his primary care provider, Jackie Turnipseed-Aymon, PA-C, who referred him to Physician Assistant Heather Davis at St. Luke’s McCall Wound Healing Center.
The Wound Healing Center focuses on quality of life and uses the latest therapies to help patients return to their previous health as soon as possible. There is a team of experts to help people who suffer from acute and chronic wounds caused by diabetes, poor circulation, injury, surgery and other conditions.
It turned out Phillips’ ulcer was the result of a complication from an existing condition, and it had become infected. The infection was so severe Phillips required a three-day stay at St. Luke’s McCall for intensive antibiotic drip treatment. The infection needed to be controlled or Phillips was at risk of having part of his foot amputated.
After he was discharged, Phillips transitioned to an oral antibiotic treatment plan and weekly visits to the Wound Healing Center to treat and monitor his foot ulcer.
Phillips’ foot is healing well, and his visits with the wound care team are winding down. He wears custom footwear that relieves pressure on his wound and his feet in general. He also has chosen to work on improving his overall health and has lost 63 pounds.
Phillips has nothing but good things to say about the convenience and quality of St. Luke’s care, especially the clinicians and others with the Wound Healing Center.
“It would have been a huge burden to have to travel to Boise every week this winter for treatment. We are blessed to have a hospital and clinics with such a high level of expertise. It’s not typical for a rural town of our size,” Phillips said.
The Wound Healing Center began seeing patients two days a week in 2012. Dr. Raymond Otto, board certified in emergency medicine and undersea and hyperbaric medicine, travels to McCall once a month. He continues to monitors his patient’s progress when he is not in town via telemedicine technology. The service has grown much faster than anticipated. In 2012, there were 130 visits to the Wound Healing Center. In 2014, the number skyrocketed to 852 visits.
To find out more about St. Luke’s McCall’s Wound Healing Center, call 208-634-1776.
