Felix Raymond Ortega, MD Director, Wound Healing Center, Associate Professor of Surgery

Over $25 billion is spent annually on wound care in the United States. Between 5 and 7 million Americans are affected each year by at least one form of chronic wound and the incidence of these wounds is increasing at approximately 10% a year. If a wound progresses to Stage IV, the associated costs may reach as high as $200,000 a year—incorporating costs for pharmacy, operating theater and hospital accommodation, microbiology, respiratory therapy, renal dialysis, radiology/CAT scan/electrocardiography, clinical microscopy, pathology, nuclear medicine, endocrinology, core cardiology, hematology and chemistry, and laboratory analysis.

The true cost, however, is the mortality and morbidity associated with chronic wounds, primarily in the elderly, disabled, and those with diabetes, who comprise the vast majority of patients with pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, and venous ulcers. If treatments were implemented simultaneously and in an evidence-based manner, the majority of this morbidity and mortality could be avoided.

At the Wound Healing Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center our multidisciplinary approach takes into account the complex nature of chronic wounds. We call upon the expertise of dermatologists, nephrologists, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, general surgeons, nutritionists, podiatrists, neurologists, diabetologists, and radiologists as needed. Through individualized treatment plans, we strive to improve the quality of care for every patient, especially the disabled, elderly, and those with diabetes.

Our fundamental mission is to heal chronic wounds—achieving complete closure of the wound without drainage. We focus in particular on the treatment of advanced chronic wounds, seeking to reduce the incidence of Stage IV pressure ulcers and the need for amputations. A key component to our success is clear and effective communication among the patient, the Wound Healing Center, and the primary doctor. We keep the primary doctor fully informed about a patient's treatment plan, to better ensure the patient's overall health.

As part of this mission, we are also at the forefront of research into improving wound healing methodologies and tracking outcomes. In 2005, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) awarded Columbia University a $1.5 million grant to investigate: the efficacy of electronic medical records in improving patient care results; decreasing amputation rates in people with diabetes; and decreasing the prevalence of stage IV pressure ulcers.

Through individualized treatment plans, we strive to improve the quality of care for every patient, especially the disabled, elderly, and those with diabetes.

Establishing a National Standard of Care

To date, the healing of chronic wounds (primarily diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, ischemic ulcers, and venous leg ulcers) has been characterized by a broad spectrum of specific treatments and therapies—many of which have proved effective, some of which have not. There has been no national standard of care for healing chronic wounds, until now.

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The Wound Healing Program is hosts an important national CME program, "Practice Evidence Based Standards of Care in Wound Healing: Inpatient and Outpatient Healing in the Elderly, Disabled, and Those with Diabetes" The goal of this course is to present an integrated set of procedures, techniques, and therapies that together comprise a national standard of care for the repair and healing of wounds.

In addition, we invite interested professionals to attend a CME accredited preceptorship course, held at the Columbia University Wound Center in New York City, to further advance their wound healing education.

This website provides key information about our national standard for caring for patients with chronic wounds. We hope you find it useful and informative. For further information or to refer a patient, please do not hesitate to contact us at 212.932.4325.