In 1997, Catholic Medical Center became the first hospital in New Hampshire to offer Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. And, in 1999, Catholic Medical Center opened the area's first Comprehensive Wound Healing Center.
The Center provides a multidisciplinary program of treatment and support services for treating people with chronic and hard-to-heal wounds. Our full continuum of care includes:
- Extensive wound assessment
- Treatment based on advanced medical methodologies
- Pain management
- Patient education
- Support services
Coupled with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, both treatment options can offer new hope for treatment and healing to patients with complex problem wounds.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy relies on a pressurized chamber to deliver 100 percent oxygen to the patient through an enclosed, clear, cylinder-shaped chamber. It is used to treat life-threatening illness such as air and gas embolisms, carbon monoxide poisoning and scuba diving decompression sickness. But, its primary use is for wounds that won't heal, delivering high concentrations of oxygen to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. Through this type of therapy, the patient breathes the oxygen into his or her lungs and it is dissolved into the blood stream. The enriched blood is then carried throughout the body.