Shared Health Services Blog

June is Wound Healing Awareness Month — a national effort to raise awareness about chronic wounds, early intervention, and access to advanced care. It’s a chance for hospitals and providers to highlight healing outcomes, educate communities, and strengthen wound care delivery where it matters most.

May is Hyperbaric Awareness Month — spotlighting the role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in treating chronic wounds and complex conditions. This is a key opportunity for hospitals to highlight HBOT’s healing benefits, educate referring providers, and build support for advanced wound care services.

September is PAD Awareness Month — a time to highlight the critical link between vascular health and wound healing. Peripheral artery disease limits blood flow, delaying recovery and increasing risk of limb loss. This post explores why early detection, referral, and vascular support are key for wound care outcomes.

SAAK Health is launching a new evidence-based wound care clinic in Brookfield, WI — bringing advanced treatments and personalized support closer to home. This specialty clinic is designed to serve patients with chronic, non-healing wounds and support local providers through referral coordination and continuity of care.

Wound Healing Awareness Month raises visibility for patients living with chronic wounds and the clinicians who care for them. Millions face delayed healing due to conditions like diabetes, PAD, or infection. This post explores the impact of early referral, education, and access to specialized wound care services.

April is Limb Loss Awareness Month — drawing attention to the millions at risk for amputation due to diabetes, PAD, and chronic wounds. With timely intervention and access to advanced wound care, many amputations can be prevented. This post explores what hospitals and providers can do to help preserve limbs and lives.

Nutrition plays a critical role in wound healing — from tissue repair and immune function to collagen production and inflammation control. This National Nutrition Month, we spotlight how providers and patients can support healing with high-quality, nutrient-dense foods that promote recovery and resilience.

When diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) extend to bone, the risk of limb loss increases sharply. Wagner Grade 3 ulcers with suspected osteomyelitis require urgent imaging, surgical consult, and advanced wound care. This post explores diagnostic challenges and why timely intervention is critical to saving limbs — and lives.

Where do we go from here? In this strategic reflection, Terrie A. Dittmeyer, VP of Operations at Shared Health Services, explores the future of wound care—highlighting the critical role of specialized programs, clinical leadership, and innovation in treating complex, non-healing wounds.

Diabetes is more than a blood sugar issue — it’s a systemic disease with far-reaching effects. This post explores how unmanaged hyperglycemia contributes to diabetic foot wounds, kidney disease, and heart failure, and why early intervention through specialized wound care programs is essential to preventing irreversible damage.

Wound healing depends on the delicate balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants. This post explores how HBOT supports healing at each stage—from inflammation to tissue remodeling—by modulating oxidative stress and promoting fibroblast activity in patients with chronic, hard-to-heal wounds.

Inflammation is a necessary part of healing—but when it becomes prolonged, it disrupts the entire repair process. This post explores how chronic inflammation delays wound healing, prevents collagen remodeling, and contributes to the development of non-healing wounds, especially in high-risk patients.

Not all wound care products are compatible with Collagenase SANTYL. This guide outlines safe pairings, highlights key ingredients to avoid, and helps clinicians make evidence-based decisions when combining enzymatic debridement with other advanced wound therapies.

Doxycycline offers more than antibacterial effects—it may modulate chronic inflammation by targeting key molecular pathways. This post explores how doxycycline reduces MMP activity, TNF-alpha conversion, and nitric oxide production to support healing in complex, non-healing wounds.

Chronic wound pain is more than discomfort—it’s a clinical signal of inflammation, hypoxia, and disrupted healing. This post explores how chronic wounds enter a self-sustaining pain cycle and outlines actionable strategies to break it. By addressing the underlying causes—like poor oxygenation, edema, and metabolic acidosis—clinicians can improve comfort, reduce suffering, and support healing for medically complex patients.

Dialysis patients face significantly higher cardiac risks during HBOT due to structural heart disease, electrolyte imbalances, and fluid shifts. This post outlines evidence-based strategies for risk reduction, including treatment timing, monitoring protocols, and interdisciplinary care coordination to support safer outcomes.