From the Front Lines: A Q&A with William P. Nolan

  TWC interviewed William P. Nolan, Director of Nazareth Hospital Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine – HBOT-certified for a question and answer profile.

  TWC: Where is your wound care facility located and when did it open?
  WN: Nazareth’s Center opened in October 2006. We’re located in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  TWC: Does your facility have a website and if so what is the purpose of the site?
  WN: We do have a website (www.mercyhealth.org/nazareth) and it offers our community information about our services, the Hospital’s outreach efforts, and other helpful information such as facility directions.

  TWC: What were some of the biggest challenges with opening the clinic?
  WN: Because wound care and HBOT require specialized training and skills, assembling a qualified staff before opening was a challenge. However, we put together a great, highly skilled team who are all still with us today. In the two years since we’ve opened, the hospital has hired a wound care nurse practitioner. She and the center nursing staff are all CWOCN certified.

  TWC: How long have you been in wound care? How did you first get involved in wound care?
  WN: Six years. I first got involved in wound care in 2003 as a program director at Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

  TWC: What types of wounds do you see and treat in your clinic on a regular basis?
  WN: Venous wounds are the most prevalent, mainly as a result of the epidemic of obesity. Diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers account for a large majority of what we see at the Center.

  TWC: How many patients does your facility see?
  WN: The number of patients we see each day has increased steadily over two years. In 2008, we saw a 21 percent increase in patient visits. We’ve helped nearly 800 patients, preventing amputation and salvaging their limbs.

  TWC: How many employees work at your facility and what specific positions do you employ there?
  WN: At Nazareth Hospital’s outpatient Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, we have three nurses, two technicians, and a multidisciplinary panel of physicians with expertise in podiatry, plastic surgery, and vascular surgery.

  TWC: Can you describe your facility’s size?
  WN: Our 5,800-square foot outpatient center is located within the hospital. We have four treatment rooms and a hyperbaric suite.

  TWC: What have been some of your biggest operational challenges and why?
  WN: We have not had to face many, frankly. The administration is committed to the program and recognizing its value for the community that we serve— they have been absolutely supportive.

  TWC: What do you personally enjoy most about wound care?
  WN: I love that we’re offering a service that our community needs and we’re helping people keep their limbs, their dignity, and in some cases, their livelihoods. We have a huge impact on the people we serve.

  TWC: What trends are you currently noticing in wound care and how are you adapting them to your own practice?
  WN: As with many other healthcare specialties, we’re seeing outpatient volumes grow.

  TWC: What efforts are you currently doing in advertising and marketing for your facility?
  WN: We do a great deal of community education, staff education, and physician outreach.

  TWC: What areas in the form of advertising, marketing, and PR do you feel the Facility needs to do a better job at executing?
  WN: I feel we maneuver within our budget parameters very effectively.

  TWC: What advice can you offer directors of wound care facilities about advertising and marketing their facilities?
  WN: What works for one may not work for all. It’s best to know your physician base and community and make decisions about marketing based on that knowledge.

  TWC: What advice do you have for directors of wound care facilities that are looking to hire new employees? What qualities should they look for?
  WN: I believe that we should be looking for staff members who specialize in wound care and have become wound care certified. With the constantly changing healthcare field, we need to try to identify staff willing to grow and adjust to meet the changing environment.

  TWC: Describe what your center is doing in the areas of hyperbaric wound care treatment.
WN: We have two Perry monoplace chambers. About 10 to 15 percent of the patients we treat require HBOT in addition to other wound healing therapies. We have had great success with limb salvage using HBOT. Many of our patients would face amputation if it were not for successful hyperbaric treatments.

  TWC: Do you feel that your facility is doing anything innovative or different from other wound care clinics? If so please describe?
  WN: Our clinical staff is always looking for new, advanced therapies that are evidence based. We keep an open mind. Achieving wound closure is a team effort, involving our nurses, technicians and the various specialized surgeons who serve our patients. Vascular, general, plastic, and podiatric surgeons are available to help solve wound healing challenges and provide patients with interventions, if needed.

  TWC: Please share your view of the future growth in wound care or any ways that you are noticing an increase in this segment.
  WN: Each year millions of patients have non-healing wounds that go untreated, with tragic consequences. We need to continue to push this much needed specialty to the forefront, educating other healthcare providers on just how we can help patients. Physicians who see the results of advanced wound treatment recognize its value. This will become a must-have service for hospitals and health systems.