Rapid Wound Care Diagnosis

Holding The Joint Commission Disease Management Certification for Wound Care, National Healing Corporation provides a rapid wound pathology service to its outpatient wound care centers in association with the division of dermatopathology in the Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

When presented with an atypical wound, the clinical staffs at NHC managed wound centers send a biopsy to the experts in Miami who utilize advanced diagnostic techniques including histology, histochemistry and immuno-histochemistry to diagnose the wound and help identify a course of effective treatment.

In creating Centers of Excellence for Wound Healing, NHC first pioneered the service at Reid Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Center in Richmond, Ind. During the pilot program, a woman visited the outpatient wound center for treatment presenting with an abscess that appeared to be from a spider bite. After no improvement in her condition, a biopsy was forwarded to University of Miami which correctly diagnosed North American Blastomycosis, a rare infection caused by breathing in a fungus found in wood and soil. The patient received the proper antibiotics and a successful wound outcome was achieved.

That case study of a rare life-threatening condition was presented in 2008 before the international Dermatopathology Symposium. The study, entitled "From the Microscope to the Clinical Practice" was presented by Dr. Paolo Romanelli, an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery at University of Miami.

As part of its cost-effective wound solutions for hospitals, the service is provided exclusively to NHC managed wound healing centers at no cost to the hospital or physicians.