MOUNT VERNON — Knox Community Hospital celebrated the expansion of its Center for Wound Healing on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The expanded center, located at 1330 Coshocton Ave. in the Knox Medical Pavilion, doubled its exam room capacity from four to eight.
“This is a wonderful addition to our community. Congratulations to your entire team on this achievement,” Debbie Ruggles of the Knox County Chamber of Commerce said.
Reading a statement on behalf of Mayor Matt Starr, administrative assistant Todd Hill said the expanded and award-winning center represents an investment not only in health care but in quality of life for Knox County residents.
“Chronic and complete complex wounds affect thousands of people each year, often limiting mobility, independence, and well-being,” he said. “Having this level of specialized care close to home means faster healing, less trouble for patients, and better outcomes for families.”
Hill said facilities like the wound care center strengthen the local health care system. They also create skilled jobs. He reaffirmed the city’s commitment to being a place where innovation, compassion, and community go hand in hand.
“Every new service like this makes Mount Vernon a healthier, stronger, and more resilient community. We can all take pride in knowing that this center will serve veterans, seniors, and families who might otherwise struggle to find this level of care,” he said.
The center has been part of the Healogics network of wound care centers since 2008.
“This [KCH] team has over 50 years of experience in healing patients with chronic wounds,” Toni McCutcheon, director of operations for Heologics, said.
“They are highly skilled and highly trained in what they do. Our patient satisfaction rate can reach 98%, and sometimes over the course of the time 100%.”
Increased access means better outcomes
The center currently averages about 180 active patients. From 2019 through 2024, the center saw 25,660 patients; 2,340 of them were new.
The expansion’s immediate benefit is quicker appointments for patients.
“We went from having one provider here to having two providers being able to work simultaneously to improve patient access and get them in quicker,” Clinical Program Director Vicki Kildoo said.
“We typically like to see patients within 24 to 72 hours of a referral. Right now, our admission rate is 2.5 days, which is very good for a specialty.
“We typically see patients weekly, because we know through evidence-based care that more frequent visits heal patients faster. Our main goal in wound care is to heal them as quickly as possible so that they don’t have any complications,” she added.
The Center for Wound Healing offers HBO (hyperbaric oxygen) therapy as an adjunct to other wound care treatments. Treatments last about two hours.
In HBO therapy, patients are placed in a chamber that is flooded with 100% pressurized oxygen. The pressurized oxygen accelerates the healing process by stimulating angiogenesis, which is the formation of new cells.
In layman’s terms, it speeds up the healing time by increasing blood flow.
Kildoo said the two main indications patients present with are diabetic foot infections and late-effect radiation.
“If someone has had radiation for cancer in the past, the radiation kills obviously the cancer, which we want it to, but it also deteriorates the blood flow to the good cells, too. So you’re decreasing blood flow to that area that’s been irradiated,” Kildoo explained.
“The HBO just increases that oxygenation to that area and can help with those symptoms.”
Holistic wound care
Dr. Thomas McKinley serves as medical director. Providers include internal medicine, podiatry, infectious disease, and advanced practitioners.
The nursing team includes RN case managers and LPNs who have all been through wound care training and operators of the HBO chambers.
Because the center is not a 24/7 operation, it does not treat emergent situations.
“There’s a lot that goes into wound healing. We follow nine elements of wound healing,” Kildoo said.
Those elements include glucose control and nutrition, infection and antibiotic therapies, and relieving pressure to prevent pressure ulcers.
“We work well with home health companies because a lot of times folks need care at home as well,” Kildoo said.
“We’re taking care of them once a week if that’s medically indicated, but a lot of times they need help at home, too. So we will help with getting health set up or we’ll help them get supplies sent to their house.”
The wound care center accepts all insurance carriers that KCH accepts. Patients do not require a physician referral to be seen in the center.
The center is located in Suite 1C of the Knox Medical Pavilion and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.