LANCASTER – Antelope Valley Hospital celebrated the grand opening of its Comprehensive Wound Care Center Tuesday evening.
The center, which opened Dec 27, 2011, has a staff equipped to deal with every kind of wound.
“The number of people who may be in need of the wound center is in the millions,” said Dr. Gary Boghossian, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Wound Care Center.
The wound care center serves the doctors and the patients in the community because it provides an awareness of the severity of the problem, he said.
Diabetic wounds are one of the most common medical problems to be seen in a wound care center, Dr. Boghossian said. Every person who is diabetic is at a high risk of forming an ulcer.
With limb loss, a person’s chance for survival is 50 percent if they don’t get the proper care, he said.
“It’s what we call a limb salvage center,” Dr. Boghossian said.
Patients using the Comprehensive Wound Care Center will be there for severe burns, venous stasis ulcers, post-surgical wounds, traumatic wounds, and other chronic non-healing wounds that need to be checked on a regular basis, said Dr. Boghossian.
“The good thing with the wound care center is that people can live at home with their families, the hospital frees up beds, and there is less money being spent on insurance,” Dr. Boghossian said.
Currently there are two doctors, two registered nurses (RN), one technician and administrative staff working in the wound care center, said Wound Center RN Rachel Rhoten. They are hoping to gain another doctor for the center soon, she added.
There are five rooms total in the wound care center, each specialized for the different kinds of wounds, Dr. Boghossian said. The funding for the facility is provided completely by the AV Hospital, he added.
AV Hospital Chief Executive Officer Edward Mirzabegian said he thinks it is important to take care of the community members in the community in which they live.
Dr. Boghossian said the AV Hospital was very diligent and swift in getting the wound care center up and running.
“This project has been on the plate for the last two years,” Mirzabegian said.
The hospital is a very busy facility, he said. In one day, they’ve seen 45 cases of surgery, in one week they’ve seen 12 trauma patients, and in one month they’ve seen about 350 patients in the ER.
“This is who we are and this is what we do,” Mirzabegian said.
They are also continuously adding programs and facilities to accommodate the growing number of people in the AV, Mirzabegian said.
“We are doers. We do things,” Mirzabegian said.
AV Hospital Marketing Manager Ellen Driscoll said the building that houses the wound care center has been used for a number of things in the past, such as a mammogram center and a lower level ER.
“I’m hoping this one will stay for awhile,” Driscoll said. “It’s a good service for the community.”
wound care says
RITA Wound Care Centre offers comprehensive care for patients with chronic wounds. There are many types of wounds, which can damage the skin, including wounds, sores, penetrating wounds and holes.
Wound care
Gypsi says
My Hospital Stay
My leg got all inflamed & rashed out and then got all infected … I sat in the emergency room for a while, and my daughter, Jami came to keep me company … It took 3 1/2 hours to be seen … Then, after another couple of hours, they hooked me up to an IV of Vancomycin and took me upstairs to a room … After a day or so, someone from the Department of Infectious Diseases came and ordered me some Silver antibiotic cream, some lotion & a steroid cream … Then, they took me to an isolation room and continued the treatments of the IVs, the blood tests, the pills, the lotions & creams … The nurses were all very nice & helpful for the first days, but, then this boy nurse came on duty one night, & was very unkind … Every time he hurt me he would stand up straight and give me a nasty look, like I was intentionally giving him a hard time, even though it was just a tiny jerking motion or a gasp or a sound of pain I made … He was supposed to give me a pain pill before the IV, because it hurts when hooked up and during the IV fluid transfer into my veins … And, while waiting for the next IV, I was dosing off several times … Each time he came in for some reason I would jerk awake suddenly … I was not able to sleep soundly in that environment, so, I would startle with each sound if I had fallen lightly asleep … When it was time for my IV to be hooked up, he came in and started hooking me up … very painfully … I said I was supposed to get a pain pill BEFORE my IV, and he said … “I understand, but you were sound asleep” (bull…t) … So I said, but, the pain pill is because the IV treatment is very painful for me … and he repeated … “I understand, but you were sound asleep” (as if it was my punishment for being asleep) … after he got me all hooked up, and it was flowing into my hand, he asked me if he still needed to get me a pain pill … I was not willing to let him get to me, so I said never mind, it is already hooked up and I will be fine … Later, he came into my room and went over to the window shelf where all the creams, lotions & other products were sitting that had been ordered by my doctor, and he picked up the tube of Silver antibiotic cream that I had been using very sparingly, because that was the expensive stuff and I was only going to get one tube … He started walking away, & I asked why he was taking it … He pointed at the computer and said … “We are not using this anymore” … We … as if he was the Queen of England … I said, but, that is the one cream that is really working … He said, “I understand, then repeated his We comment, and said something about the computer … I asked him if he could tell me the exact name of the cream, because even though it was a prescripton, I could look it up on the computer at home and get one like it that was not a prescription … He walked it over and started to let me look at the tube, then held it away from my reaching, and read it to me … Then he took it away from me … Looking back on it now, makes me think that he had no right to take it, since it was the doctor who got that for me, and who the heck was he to take it away? … Did he want it for himself or was he just mean??? … Ugh! … Well, later, when I asked for my “regular” medicine (that I’ve taken all the time at home for the last ten years) … & he told me that it wasn’t time for it … I said that it had been over 6 hours … he said, “I understand, but it wasn’t due for another 2 hours … I got into a back & forth with him about it, and told him I was supposed to get that one every 4 to 6 hours … He kept telling me that the computer said otherwise etc. etc. etc. … Every time he said anything “at” me, he would say “I understand, but …” like he was talking down to a child,” … I tried to explain that the medicine is an anti-convulsive medication, and that I had been keeping it in my bloodstream for the past 10 years, & a withdrawal from the medication could cause several different complications including actually having convulsions … he interrupted smurkingly & wouldn’t let me complete my explanation … “Oh so you think you will have convulsions?” … then I attempted to say it other words to explain that this medicine was originally for epileptics but that it is also used for pain, since is can cut off the message between the mind and body when there is great pain … but, he cut me off and wouldn’t let me finish again … “Oh, so you think you are an epileptic?” … Wow, this guy is so full of himself he won’t even listen … I couldn’t explain anything to him without a smart-mouth remark … I just had to give up … Any other nurse would have called to verify the mistake in the computer which had gone down the day before and was back up that day … but, not him, he kept back-talking me until I was telling him off & telling him I was going to leave the hospital … I started calling my doctor & my daughter, Jami, to come get me out of that place, and he came into my room with a young nurses’ helper who was supposed to be his little witness, and he handed me some AMA papers and a pen (for those leaving Against Medical Advice) … I did not take the papers & I told him off about how he had been rude and mean to me ever since he got there … I said I wouldn’t sign anything until I heard from my doctor and until my daughter came to pick me up … He said, “The doctor will NOT be calling you back,” … I said that it was MY doctor, and that he WOULD be calling me back … I told him to stop talking back to me and to leave me alone and get out of my room … After that, I didn’t listen to anything else he had to say, and he left … Jami reminded me on the phone, that she had given me some of my own meds to keep in case I couldn’t get them from the nurses on time … I thought they were in my purse, which I had given back to her for safe keeping during my hospital stay … So I dug through all my bags of personal belongings, and found them … I took one right away …The process of phone calls and call-backs finally got in touch with my doctor and that started the process … He said he had to contact the other doctor from Infectious Disease, who had told me the day before, that I was going to be released on Friday, & that now I needed to be released one day early … There was a really rough time of impatience on my part … My doctor came in, discussed my leaving, then went away saying he was calling the other doctor … The other doctor came later and said he was going to get my release papers and a couple of prescriptions of two different antibiotics for me to take at home, & told me to keep using the lotion he gave me … Then he left, & there was nothing left to do but for me to wait until the hospital staff got me the papers & prescriptions That was the longest wait EVER … Jami was with me through most of the waiting, so I wasn’t alone … She knew how long it took for me to get anything that I needed, because she came there every day and ended up going into the hallway to get someone to get me whatever was needed during each day she came … So, I was used to waiting … It was what people who have been put into a hospital room have to do … Wait … Some of the patients call out at all hours for nurses to come help them … Some, so many times that if a nurse responded every time, they would be in that room all the time … Some patients need a LOT of attention … So, the nurses just turn off their “beck & call” radars, and do nothing most of the time … The calling out and making horrible suffering sounds and yelling for help goes on and on, until you get used to it … It also lets YOU know that YOU have to get used to waiting or not ask for what you need at all … This is mostly at night … During the daytime shifts, all the nurses & other staff, are moving around like a hive of busy bees … Cleaning, checking in, taking temps & bps, bringing meds (on time), asking if you need anything … taking blood, hooking up IVs … making sure you get what you need when you need it … Plus, they are cheerful and helpful and really nice & kind to you … So, what happened??? … Why was this boy nurse so mean-spirited and UNkind? … Why would he NOT treat me right? … Why did he take my Silver antibiotic cream away from me? … Why wouldn’t he stop back-talking me when I know what time I am supposed to get my meds? … I have such great pain if I don’t have my Neurontin … He told me he could give me a pain pill (since he didn’t give me one with my IV, but, that I couldn’t have a Neurontin for two more hours … I didn’t want a pain pill that knocks me out, I needed the Neurontin which I take every 4 to 6 hours to keep it in my bloodstream continuously … It was like I was talking to an automaton with no feelings and with intentional superiority & self-importance … He was unyeilding and unwilling to even go call anyone to find out if the computer information had been input incorrectly … It was like by telling him the computer information was wrong that I was telling HIM that HE was defective in some way … I don’t know … I just know that I was suffering greatly by then, and was so uncomfortable in every way, and I just wanted him to get away from me … I wanted out of that place, so I could control my own medications and have the freedom to leave my room and take care of my own needs … So … Even though a hospital isn’t supposed to be a “vacation” with fun rides and cotton candy, it IS supposed to treat you humanely … That guy should never be allowed to work with human beings … especially helpless patients in a hospital … EVER! … Well, I never have to see him again, and I hope to never be in another hospital again … I am home, and I will heal in time … I am going to keep my diet simple, take my pills on time, and use the steroid cream & other stuff according to the instructions … Also, I went online and ordered a silver cream and a silver soap & a silver lip-balm … I forgot to mention that my lips puffed out like donald duck, and that is why I ran to the emergency room in the first place … An allergic reaction to one of the many things I was using to treat my leg inflammation & rash … Even though the cortisone shot they gave me and the antihistamines they gave me, took the swelling from my lips after a couple of days, I thought it was a good idea to get the lip balm as well as the cream and soap … I want to be prepared for now & the future of my sensitive system’s eruptions … This was a long story to read, but, I thought it best to write it all out of me, to give me some peace from the whole hospital ordeal …
(I sent this letter to all my Loved-ones & Family)
My next appointment will be made at the Wound Care facility, to follow up on my leg’s progress … Plus, I will go to my own doctor’s office for him to see how I’m doing … I hope the Wound Care Center will be able to help clear up my swollen red leg. I will wait until I use up my week of antibiotics before doing anything … After that, I am at the Wound Care Center’s mercy.
John Mlynar says
I have had good experiences at AV Hospital, and one not so good one due to overcrowding. But it wasn’t their fault!!! Thankfully, we have options in the AV…AV Hospital, the brand new Palmdale Regional Medical Center, and soon, the new Kaiser Hospital. If you haven’t checked out Palmdale Regional, you’re missing a gem in our midst.
Eyewitness says
First thing AV hospital needs to do is fire most of their ER staff. They are the slowest, most unprofessional, and disrespectful bunch of medical “professionals” I have ever seen. They are too busy chit-chatting, gossiping, and playing around whilst they have people waiting and waiting (some for HOURS). On a recent visit I saw an ambulance driver standing next to someone in what seemed to be excruciating pain in the HALLWAY for my entire stay at the ER (which ended up totaling close to 5 hours) and when I left they were STILL waiting. Instead of spending money opening up a useless wound care center (which Palmdale Hospital already has) Spend money expanding your ER and hiring better nurses.
Some Dude says
For years AVH has had saturation problems due to lack of beds/staffing. When AVH opened their trauma center made it even worse. They dedicated more valuable real estate (read: ER floor space) to beds which have to remain open for trauma patients. This on top of being inundated with nonsense patients who can’t find their way to an urgent care due to lack of insurance (read: citizenship), or inability to get to 60th West and J for the County urgent care.
The nurses at AVH are wonderful people, who I have seen in action and worked alongside of on many occasions (but they can be bitchy, I’ll give you that). However, they are often over-capacity with their patient censuses, and more often than not, they have to wait on physician orders before taking any action whatsoever. They do not control the policies at the hospital or the resources allotted to the ER or their scopes of practice. Sure they could use improvement, but the real problem with AV’s ER is a much larger beast than the ER staff alone.