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IN JUNE, SAINT Alphonsus Regional Medical Center opened the Advanced Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Program to serve patients who have non-healing or complex wounds and certain other diseases. These safe, painless and effective treatments usually last from 1½ to 2 hours; patients can relax in a reclined position and watch TV, listen to music, or even nap in a sealed chamber, which is pressurized at up to three times the normal atmospheric pressure. Under these conditions, oxygen levels in the blood increase while concentrations of nitrogen and carbon monoxide go down.

Advanced therapy as you relax

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breath-ing in pure oxygen, which increases blood oxygen levels by up to 10 times. This treat-ment can promote the growth of new blood vessels, salvage and resuscitate damaged or diseased tissue, expedite wound heal-ing, and reduce swelling or inflammation. Restoring or enhancing tissue oxygen levels is also a potent antibiotic.

The Hyperbaric Program includes use of a state-of-the-art Sechrist Monoplace 4100 Hyperbaric Chamber, the third one installed in the nation and the largest

single-person hyperbaric chamber in Idaho. The roomy interiors, which can accom-modate patients up to 700 pounds, allow patients to rest comfortably in a reclined position while breathing normally. The highly skilled Hyperbaric Medicine team—hyperbaric technicians, physical therapists, a nurse practitioner and medical director—remain in constant contact with every patient throughout the treatment session via the chamber intercom. The new programwill help specialists treat inpatients and outpatients for issues such as: • Chronic wounds. • Diabetes-related wounds. • Certain infections. • Tissue damage from trauma. • Burns.

• Vascular disorders.

• Venous or arterial insufficiency. • Carbon monoxide poisoning. Providing this new cutting-edge tech-nology and applying best practices to help heal wounds in both the outpatient and inpatient setting is another example of how Saint Alphonsus makes the critical difference.

For more information or a hyperbaric consultation, please call (208) 367-6048.

The healing power The healing power

OXYGEN

Advanced hyperbaric medicine program opens

of

Eric Johnson, MD,

Medical Director of the newWound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Program

LIFE’S WORK

Eric Johnson, MD, is the Medical Director of the new Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Program. Initially boarded in Family Medi-cine, Dr. Johnson has practiced Emergency Medicine since 1989 at Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke’s as well as Teton

Valley Hospital in Driggs, ID. He is an active scuba diving instructor, which first led to his now-long-standing interest in hyperbaric medicine.

With a long history of outdoor recreational activities, he has specialized in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine with significant experience in the sub-specialties of Altitude and Diving Medicine. He is an inter-national author and speaker known for his expertise in Wilderness and Hyperbaric Medicine and is published in numerous professional journals.

Dr. Johnson was featured in the 2006 Everest ER documen-

BBC and Discovery ocumentary segment History Channel’s I’m 2010. He is a fellow of demy of Wilderness ne and a past president Wilderness Medical . Dr. Johnson also rent member of the ea Hyperbaric Medical , the American College erbaric Medicine and the tion for the Advance-f Wound Care.

Health & Healing www.saintalphonsus.org 3