FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Westminster, Md. (October 21, 2005) — Carroll Hospital Center will host an open house and facility tour of its Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine on Tuesday, November 1, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the hospital’s Outpatient Center. The event also includes free wound screenings, door prizes and light refreshments. Call Health Access at 410-848-2244 to register. An estimated five million Americans suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds, defined as wounds that won’t heal with conservative treatment in four to six weeks. The discomfort and pain of a non-healing wound greatly impacts a person’s quality of life, as well as leads to long term disability and an increased risk for additional medical problems. "Some wounds benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), in which the patient is placed in a pressurized chamber filled with 100 percent oxygen," said John A. Steers, M.D., general surgeon, who is the medical co-director of the Wound Care Center with vascular surgeon Sohaila Ali, M.D. Oxygen increases the body’s natural ability to heal itself. HBOT treatment is appropriate for about 20 percent of patients seen at The Wound Care Center. To find out how you can make an appointment with one of our wound care specialists or for more information about wound care services, call 410-871-6348 or visit www.CarrollHospitalCenter.org. Carroll Hospital Center, founded in 1961 as Carroll County General Hospital, is a nonprofit, acute care facility offering a continuum of services, including comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and community programs. ###