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June 8, 2021

When children and families throughout the Houston area need expert care to evaluate, treat and manage a variety of wounds, there is only one place in the local community for them to go: Texas Children’s Wound Care Clinic.

And now – after our most recent expansion to accommodate that ever-increasing need – our patients can find service close to home at the newly opened Wound Care Clinic at West Campus.

“There is no other service like this being offered anywhere in Houston,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, who serves as Surgeon-in-Chief and holds the S. Baron Hardy Chair in Plastic Surgery. “This is a genuine value to these patients and will elevate the level of care they receive. The ease of access will clearly set this clinic apart.”

Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) nurses have provided wound care at Texas Children’s campuses for several years, treating conditions as varied as animal bites, chronic wounds, soft tissue infections, thermal skin injuries and trauma. These nurses have highly specialized skills that require intensive training, certification and experience that very few achieve, according to Anita Harris-Brown, director of Nursing Clinical Support Operations.

But just as the Texas Children’s system has grown, so has the demand for wound care services in inpatient and outpatient areas. This prompted leaders to set their sights on a new dedicated clinic inclusive of wound care nurses, physician assistants, physicians and other clinicians from a variety of disciplines. The ultimate plan is to offer wound care service on a daily basis at every campus.

Successfully opening the West Campus clinic required collaboration between teams and a constant, collective focus on meeting patient needs – even amid the challenges of the pandemic. Patients and families will find a dedicated staff focused on offering a holistic approach to wound management that allows for the best possible care, as well as the latest in wound care products and an embrace of targeted research around new wound care ideas.

Offering assistance with wound treatment and navigating the system for home care and supplies is also a priority, said Shannon McCord, director of Advanced Practice Providers and Nursing Support Services at The Woodlands and West Campus. Having clinics at all three Texas Children’s hospital campuses gives patients access to care across the continuum.

“The goal is to have a standardized, multidisciplinary approach to care to optimize patient outcomes, increase patient access and facilitate care coordination,” McCord said.

Additionally, establishing the West Campus clinic brings Texas Children’s another step closer to earning national distinction as a Pediatric Wound Care Center of Excellence. The certification is awarded to facilities that have demonstrably improved the quality of life for patients with wounds.

“It is a recognition of staff members’ compassion, dedication to optimizing patient outcomes and ongoing efforts to educate not only themselves, but their patients,” said Ryan Krasnosky, director, Surgery Advanced Practice Providers. “The goal is to highlight facilities that have developed a superior wound management program.”

Texas Children’s also stands out for its commitment to evidence-based care, an essential component of our wound care delivery model that remains part of our long-term vision – along with the Center of Excellence designation and becoming an international and national wound care leader.

To that end, McCord partnered with Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) last year to provide wound care education to nurses and providers in Africa. She developed an evidence-based practice policy and procedure for pediatric wound care, and recommended wound care products that they had or could access inexpensively. She presented the information to four countries in the sub-Saharan region.

This May, a multidisciplinary wound care team from Texas Children’s delivered a skills session on wound assessment and care at a virtual workshop hosted by Global HOPE in partnership with health ministries and universities in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda. The workshop was attended by more than 320 nurses and pharmacists from 22 different countries.