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WNC Business

Mission Hospital holds open house for new Burn and Wound Center

Jul 30, 2023 05:06PM ● By WNC Business
Mission Health transferred out nearly 100 patients for burn treatment in 2022. With the new Mission Hospital Burn, Wound and Hyperbaric Center, this $7 million investment in the first burn center in Western North Carolina will mean patients will no longer need to be sent hundreds of miles away to Augusta, GA or Winston-Salem for treatment. 

Burn survivor Amanda West was at the open house held Thursday. West said she was injured in a work explosion in August 2021. Initially sent to the burn center in Augusta, West spent 30 days in ICU, followed by 50 days in rehab. Since then, West makes multiple trips back each month to Augusta. 

“I think we’ve made about 60 trips on and off, back and forth to Augusta,” West said.

West and other burn victims will soon have another option for care with Mission’s Burn Center.

“This is going to be amazing; this is such a blessing for the whole community here,” West said. “A lot of people can’t afford to go back and forth,” West said. “It’s important that they’re going to be able to access therapy and have a good burn doctor here. There’s lots of therapy to come – a few more surgeries, but smooth sailing! It’s a lot smoother than it has been,” West said.

This new center will have 14 exam rooms, with space to expand, procedure rooms, physical and occupational therapy, and hydrotherapy. In addition, this location will have our Hyperbaric Center, with two chambers to start and space to expand. 

“This is going to be an amazing opportunity to treat patients in our region,” Dr. Michael Schurr, the director of Mission Hospital’s Burn Services, said. “If you’re burned right now in our region, you have a long trip to go to a burn center hours away. This will give us an opportunity to treat patients from our community and keep them in our community.”

At Mission Health, we remain focused on our continued efforts to bring advanced medicine to Western North Carolina to provide excellent specialty care for our patients and families while staying close to home. 

Additional facts: 

  • Currently, there are no outpatient burn options in our community 
  • Entrance 7 at Mission Hospital is dedicated to Mission Burn and Wound, will have additional dedicated parking 
  • 14 exam room, with room to expand to 6 additional rooms 
  • Procedure Rooms 
  • Physical Therapy 
  • Occupational Therapy 

2 Hyperbaric chambers with room for 2 additional chambers. Hyperbaric chamber (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) treats:  

  1. Diabetic foot ulcers 
  2. Chronic refractory osteomyelitis 
  3. Soft tissue radionecrosis 
  4. Osteoradionecrosis 
  5. Compromised skin grafts/failed flaps 
  6. Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency 
  7. Acute traumatic peripheral ischemia 
  8. Necrotizing soft tissue infections 
  9. Crush injuries, compartment syndrome 
  10. Complications of reattached extremity or body part 
  11. Actinomycosis (refractory) 
  12. Gas gangrene 
  13. Air or gas embolism 
  14. Carbon monoxide poisoning 
  15. Cyanide poisoning 
  16. Decompression sickness 
About Mission Hospital:
Mission Hospital, Asheville, North Carolina, serves as the regional tertiary and quaternary care hospital in Western North Carolina and the adjoining region. Mission Hospital is licensed for 815 beds and is the region’s only Level II trauma center, comprehensive stroke center, Level III neonatal intensive care unit, and includes the only children’s hospital in Western North Carolina. Mission Hospital is also a Magnet® designated hospital for nursing excellence.
Source: Mission Hospital
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