Page 54 - Healthcare News August 2021

HMC Wound Care Center Recognized for Clinical Outcomes
HOLYOKE — The Wound Care Center at Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) has been named a recipient of the Center of Distinction award by Healogics, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound-care services. The center achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient-experience rates higher than 92% and a minimum wound-healing rate of at least 92% within 28 median days to heal. There were 555 centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award, and 278 achieved the honor.
“This is the fifth consecutive year that the HMC Wound Care Center has been recognized as a Center of Distinction,” said Ann Johnson, program director. “It is a testament to our phenomenal team and their dedicated commitment to healing our patients with high-quality, compassionate care.”
The HMC Wound Care Center is a member of the Hea- logics network of more than 600 wound-care centers and offers highly specialized wound care to patients suffering from diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, and other chronic wounds that have not healed in a reason- able amount of time.
Advanced wound-care modalities provided by the cen- ter’s wound-care experts include negative-pressure wound therapy, debridement, application of cellular-based tissue or skin substitutes to the wound, and offloading or total contact casts. The center also offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which works by surrounding the patient with 100% oxygen to help progress the healing of the wound.
Patients are referred to the Wound Care Center by their primary-care physicians or other specialists, or are self-referred. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (413) 535-4740.
Members of the HMC Wound Care Center team, from left: Lizbeth Pacheco; Dawn Connolly-Schafer, RN; Ann Johnson, program director; Dr. Savitri Rambissoon, medical director; Ryanne Whalen, LPN; and Ginny Fuhringer, RN.
CHP, BFHC Receive $350,000 for Two Nutrition Programs
GREAT BARRINGTON — Community Health Programs (CHP) has received $350,000 from MassHealth via the Berk- shire Fallon Health Collaborative (BFHC) to expand a successful nutrition program focused on patients with diabetes and those at risk of the disease.
This award more than doubles the 2020 program funding and includes the purchase of CSA farm shares for eligible participants.
The funds also provide nutrition sup- port and education for pregnant women and postpartum individuals with infants up to age 1 who have limited access to nutrition education and healthy foods.
Administered by CHP’s Family Ser- vices team, the flexible service program is open to patients covered by BFHC, the MassHealth affordable-care organization in the Berkshires.
Diabetes is a community priority in Berkshire County. The CHP healthcare network counts more than 1,800 of its patients, ages 18 to 75, living with the condition. Overall, the Berkshire region’s
death rate from diabetes, 18.7 per 100,000, far exceeds the statewide average of 14.9.
“Diabetes is a serious public-health issue around the U.S. and here in the Berkshires as well, and it’s a dangerous
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underlying condition for people with COVID-19,” said Ashli Minor, lead nutri- tionist and program coordinator for CHP. “But regardless of COVID-19, diabetes has far-reaching impacts on health and com- munity well-being.”
The diabetes-management program supports BFHC members by providing
healthy, fresh foods not typically available through SNAP, WIC, or other benefit programs. The program also helps clients build skills to incorporate these new foods into their home-cooking routines in realis-
Berkshire Grown, vouchers for formula and food packages to support infant nutri- tion, access to the CHP food pantry, and transportation and screening supports.
“We are so pleased that MassHealth is putting funding behind diabetes man- agement and prevention by addressing lifestyle and nutrition education,” said Lia Spiliotes, CEO of Community Health Pro- grams. “This program improves individual and community health, reduces healthcare costs, and improves the lives of people at risk of a preventable disease.”
Dr. Linda Weinreb, medical director of Medicaid Programs and ACOs for Fallon Health, added that “it is challenging for members to meet their wellness goals when they are experiencing food insecuri- ty and other social issues that impact their health. We are encouraged by the positive impacts this program is already having
on members, and are pleased to have the chance to continue working to address social issues that impact health.”
We are so pleased that MassHealth is putting funding behind diabetes management
and prevention by addressing lifestyle and nutrition education.”
tic and sustainable ways.
The 2021 program builds on the success
of its 2020 pilot program, in which BFHC saw an 80% increase in the number of members who reported reduced food-in- security challenges. This program includes nutrition counseling, Community Sup- ported Agriculture farm shares through
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