East Texas Medical Center Wound Healing Center Program Director Honored

TYLER, Texas (March 16, 2009) - East Texas Medical Center Wound Healing Center Program Director Melissa Sikes has been honored as Program Director of the Year by National Healing Corporation (NHC), a leader in disease management accounting for more than 30 percent of the nation's managed and outsourced wound healing centers.

NHC Chief Operating Officer, James M. Tyler, presented the award saying, "Not only has Melissa done an outstanding job with her team at East Texas Medical Center, she has also found time to mentor five new program directors in 2008. In addition, she was invited to serve as one of the instructors for training sessions held for new program directors at our corporate offices. Melissa's commitment extends beyond her local community to all those our company serves."

The highly specialized treatments offered at the East Texas Medical Center Wound Healing Center include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the use of vascular studies, tissue culturing and pathology, revascularization, skin grafting, and clinical or surgical debridement. The center specializes in the treatment of chronic wounds that have not responded to previous treatment in more than 30 days.

Sikes serves as the facilitator of the Wound Care Alliance Team at her hospital, which has contributed to the successful standardization of wound care products between the Inpatient Wound Program, Outpatient Wound Care Program and hospital affiliated Home Health Agency. Her leadership on the committee resulted in the initiation of a nursing education program at East Texas Medical Center.

Accepting the award, Sikes said, "I share this award with all the program directors who work so tirelessly to bring state-of-the-art health care to our communities and meet the growing health care challenges of an aging population and the hidden epidemic of chronic wounds."

East Texas Medical Center is located at 833 South Beckham Avenue in Tyler. Call 903-526-4325.

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About National Healing Corporation

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., National Healing Corporation provides management services and the latest technology and expertise in wound healing to its client hospitals to establish quality wound healing programs. The Joint Commission has awarded National Healing Disease-Specific Care Certification for Wound Care. Committed to health care compliance and best practice medicine, National Healing emphasizes these priorities in its extensive clinical and business training programs. The privately-held company accounts for 30 percent of all managed and outsourced wound centers in the United States. For more information, please visit www.nationalhealing.com.