Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Life Support Technologies Group Guides Hudson Valley Hospital Center to Earn Top Distinction from Hyperbaric Medical Society




The Life Support Technologies group (LST) has guided Hudson Valley Hospital Center's (HVHC) Institute for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine through a vigorous program review process that has resulted in HVHC being awarded Re-Accreditation with Distinction by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). LST has been contracted by HVHC since 2009 to provide hyperbaric medical services at its Institute in Cortlandt Manor, NY.

Glenn Butler, CEO of LST, remarked: “National Accreditation of Hyperbaric Medicine programs by the UHMS helps to promote safer, cost effective programs with better patient outcomes. The Life Support Technologies group and our Hudson Valley Hospital Center partner are proud to be UHMS accreditation pioneers in the Northeast.”



Hudson Valley Hospital Center is the only facility in the region to provide this level of service, according to the UHMS, the leading hyperbaric medicine authority in the nation. Only one other Hospital in New York State - Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, a 400-bed teaching hospital - has earned Accreditation with Distinction from the UHMS.

In order to receive the UHMS accreditation, HVHC’s Institute had to submit to an inspection by expert evaluators who rated it on commitment to staffing and training, equipment installation, operation, maintenance, facility and patient safety, and standards-of-care.



“This is an incredible honor,’’ said Kathy Webster, Vice President of Patient Services at Hudson Valley Hospital Center. “It speaks to the level of care we provide at our Institute for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine and that is due to our top-notch staff as well as new modalities of treatment we are using here with great success.’’

The UHMS’ rapidly growing Clinical Hyperbaric Facilities Accreditation Program currently has 155 accredited hyperbaric medicine services nationally. In year 2011, Hudson Valley Hospital Center was the first in the region to receive the UHMS accreditation, which is increasingly being required by commercial insurances for patient treatment approval and reimbursement.



HVHC’s Institute for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine treats non-healing wounds with a combination of debridement and the use of hyperbaric medicine. The super oxygenation offered by hyperbaric treatments can help those with chronic non-healing wounds caused by diabetes, poor circulation, traumatic injury, radiation therapy and other causes. The Institute offers three oversized, private hyperbaric chambers where patients can relax, listen to music, or watch a movie. More than 5 million Americans suffer from non-healing wounds.

The advanced clinical programs of Hudson Valley’s Institute include Diabetic Limb Salvage, and Breast Reconstruction as part of the Ashikari Breast Center at HVHC. The Institute also uses the LUNA Fluorescence Imaging System to provide fluorescence images for the visual assessment of blood flow in vessels and related tissue perfusion.

The Institute is now led by Medical Director Hisham Hourani, MD after Stephen Guthrie, MD, PhD, retired at the end of June. Dr. Guthrie established a solid network of physicians who refer patients to the Institute for advanced treatment. Integrated clinical support is provided by: Eileen Donatelli, CHRN; Christine Rogers, RN; New York Group for Plastic Surgery; and, the entire HVHC Physician / clinician staff.

For more information see:

Hudson Valley Hospital Center



Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS)

http://membership.uhms.org/


About the Life Support Technologies Group (LST)

The Life Support Technologies Group (LST) is a Tarrytown, NY-based medical and life-support engineering company specializing in Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Services to hospitals in the NY, NJ, CT region.  LST has been in business for 20 years and currently provides services to 9 hospitals.

Glenn Butler, CEO
Life Support Technologies Group
(914) 333-8412