Jennie Stuart Health is partnering with Healogics, Inc. and Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Kentucky Veterans to provide access to local veterans to a state-of-the-art treatment for traumatic brain injuries.
Jennie Stuart will be one of only four hospitals to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment to veterans in Kentucky—the Commonwealth has an estimated 12,000 veterans with traumatic brain injuries that could benefit from the treatment.
Mark Strickland is the director of the Jennie Stuart Health Wound Health Center and says they are thrilled to offer this program and treatment to the many veterans who need it, and he described what exactly the hyperbaric oxygen treatment entails on WHOP Tuesday morning.
The treatment accelerates brain tissue healing by increasing oxygenation of 700 to 1100 percent concentrations to the blood stream. Twenty-four successful clinical trials have been completed since 2007 across the country to over 1,000 veterans and patients safely.
Strickland says healing takes time, so this treatment does call for a rigorous schedule of 40 one-hour sessions or more where participants breathe 100 percent oxygen in a pressurized chamber once per day.
One of the best parts, Strickland says, is that this treatment would come at no cost to the veterans—treatments are being fully funded by HBOT4KYVETS, Inc. through a partnership with the State of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs.
Strickland says there’s no need for a referral to receive treatment, those interested just need to contact the JSH Wound Healing Center at 270-886-6412 and provide proof of diagnoses of a traumatic brain injury.
The non-profit is also seeking additional support from the private and the public sector for treating veterans of Kentucky. Visit their website at HBOT4KYVETS.com to donate.