Northern Dutchess Hospital Receives National Recognition

The Wound Care Center at Northern Dutchess Hospital has received, for the second year in a row, recognition as a "Center of Excellence," a national award given for superb wound-healing service.

The 111-year-old hospital in Rhinebeck is part of the HealthQuest organization and the wound care center provides state-of-the-art treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy and bioengineered skin grafts. The Wound Care center has received national recognition several times and they have now been named a "Robert A. Warriner III Center of Excellence" by Healogics, a Jacksonville, Florida-based company that works with hospitals to treat chronic and acute wounds including diabetic ulcers, leg ulcers, and non-healing surgical wounds.

Dr. Jeffrey Hatter, the NDH Wound Care Center Medical Director said that "this is an honor earned by our physicians and staff who work together with the patient's best interests in mind." The wound care center surpassed the eligibility requirements for the award by having a patient satisfaction rate above 92% and healed more than 91% of patients within 30 days on average, and achieved those high marks in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Dr. Hatter, on the results, said "we not only met the award criteria, we exceeded the quality scores."

Healogics manages more than 800 wound care centers and of those, only 169 were named a "Center of Excellence". The award is named for Robert A Warriner III, a pioneer in wound care who traveled the world educating others in wound care. He also had a storied military career having served in the military beginning with his Tulane USAF ROTC training. From 1980 to 1983 he served as staff anesthesiologist and Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Wilford Hall, Lackland AFB. Then at USAF Hospital, Luke AFB he served as Chief, Anesthesia Service and Medical Director having attained the rank of Major, USAF MC.