At any given point of time, up to 15% of a population are affected by wounds (White, 2009). The growing need for wound care centres is preconditioned by the aging of the nation and increased number of patients with diabetes and vascular disease (Baranoski & Ayello, 2003; Pittman, 2007; Fusaro, et. al., 2008). In the USA, there is an acute shortage of wound healing care centres, the majority of which lack funding, qualified personnel, and physical space. The introduction of the comprehensive wound healing care centre meets social demand.
Healing of wounds, especially chronic ones, is an issue of a great medical importance, as the wounds are always the indicators of other health-related problems. In their research study, Sheehan and Zeigler (2010) produce statistics according to which chronic wounds usually occur in patients with complex medical conditions, including diabetes. Of patients with wounds that were surveyed by the researchers, 90% had pressure ulcers and 10% had venous ulcers and burns. It was also noticed, that the gender distribution of patients with wounds was 45% male and 55% female (Sheehan and Zeigler, 2010). The interview with the patients’ physicians revealed that 89% of them preferred to send patients to specialized clinics (Sheehan and Zeigler, 2010) that were better equipped and had all the necessary conditions for treating wounds.
Another research study conducted by Zhi (2011) revealed that the establishment of specialized wound healing care centres resulted in the improved quality of services that were provided in them. According to Zhi’s assessment, the introduction of a specialized centre resulted in the increased number of inpatients: 4.5% compared to 4.3% in the year before the establishment of the healing wound centre (Zhi, 2011). The ever-growing number of patients resulted in the increased funding of specialized wound healing centres and subsequent growth of the bed utilization rate, level of wounds treatment and patient satisfaction (Zhi, 2011). In his research study, Zhi (2011) assumes that the promotion of the wound healing care centres results in subsequent development of the standards of burns and plastic surgery.
It is evident that the introduction of specialized centres should correspond to the national and international medical standards and utilize comprehensive medical and management experience that is accumulated in the field. In his study report, Junkin (2012) admits that, “The field of wound care has advanced dramatically in the past 20 years” (p. 1) both from the medical and financial point of view. In her report, Junkin emphasis that comprehensive utilization of knowledge that is accumulated in the field of wound healing should become an important precondition for the introduction of the specialized centres that correspond to the national and international standards, ensure timely treatment, and patient satisfaction.
Like most of her colleagues, Junkin (2012) believes that timely treatment is one of the most important aspects in wound healing. Furthermore, she provides the list of recognized techniques that physicians should apply when determining the extent of tissue damage and when assessing infection in chronic wounds. The adherence to these standards is the …