Marshfield Clinic Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Tissue Repair opens to patients May 7

MARSHFIELD — Marshfield Clinic Health System now offers the first regional center to house an integrated approach to hyperbaric medicine, wound healing and wound surgery.

The Marshfield Clinic Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Tissue Repair will bring together these three services under one roof to improve coordination and efficiency of patient care with safer, more effective therapy. The Center opens to patients Monday, May 7.

The public is welcome to a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, May 4. A program will be held at 11:30 a.m. with ribbon cutting at noon. Tours will be available until 5 p.m. Attendees should park at Marshfield Clinic Marshfield Center’s East Wing Lobby, 1000 North Oak Ave.

Marshfield developed its hyperbaric medicine program nearly seven years ago to augment medical and surgical wound care and for patients. The program has grown into the only service between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities capable of caring for critically ill patients needing this specialty care.

A keystone of this new facility will be a state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber.

“Our new multi-place hyperbaric chamber expands our ability to treat more patients in a safer, more comfortable and more effective setting,” said Marshfield Clinic Surgeon Dr. Michael Caldwell, the center’s medical director. “It also allows treatment of the most critically ill patients in the safest possible hyperbaric medicine environment.”

The new chamber can treat up to 10 patients at a time and the facility can treat 36 patients a day.

Hyperbaric medicine uses oxygen as a medicine. Using hyperbaric medicine, a large difference is created between the amount of oxygen in the blood stream and that found at an injury or infection site. This difference causes new blood vessels to grow into that area and helps fight infection by giving white blood cells needed oxygen to kill bacteria and fungi.

Hyperbaric medicine is used to treat chronic non-healing wounds in diabetic patients; chronic infections in bone; late effects of radiation therapy; compromised or failing flaps or grafts; soft tissue infections that lead to tissue death and destruction; acute loss of blood supply or crush injuries; intracranial abscesses; central retinal artery occlusion; carbon monoxide poisoning; and decompression sickness or the “bends” among other conditions.