Mary-Jo: Healing Begins with Giving

Donor contributions are making life a lot more pleasant for patients who experience a serious skin wound that is extremely slow to heal.

Mary-Jo Inman was recovering at home following a surgical procedure when she developed an infection that prevented her incision from healing.

The wound took much longer to heal than expected. Her primary home care nurse, Melissa Cetone, LPN, called in Wound Specialist Justeen Keahey, RN, WOCN, Wound Care Coordinator.

“The Wound Care Program at Fidelity Home Health Care provides prompt consultation and assessment of wound severity and corresponding treatment options,” says Cetone. “Our goal is to work with the physician to reduce infection rates, speed healing, and help reduce significant complications for our patients.” The program was initially funded through the MVH Foundation.

“Under Medicaid rules I would have gone to a nursing home, which I did not want to do,” Mary-Jo says. “Justeen really went to bat for me and got a wound vac so I could recover at home.”

“The wound vac is a machine that applies a sponge dressing to the wound,” explains Cetone, “and provides constant negative pressure to the wound which speeds up healing substantially.” The machine was provided through the Wound Care Program.

Due to the severity of her wound, Mary-Jo could not exercise, walk, or lift things around the house. “Now I’m walking and getting around a lot better, and I’m so glad I was able to do this at home,” she says.

Fidelity treats about 1,000 patients annually who have a persistent skin wound as their primary condition. These wounds can be related to many different conditions such as injury or trauma, diabetic complications, or slow wound healing. “As a result of more aggressive treatment at the onset of the wound,” adds Cetone, “the program’s goal is for patients to be more effectively treated with fewer visits from our staff.” It is anticipated that the Wound Care Coordinator will provide training to Fidelity’s field staff of approximately 150 nurses and therapists.

Mary-Jo Inman has high praise for the nurses and the program: “Justeen was there for me. She’s a great asset to the program and the community,” Inman says. “The program has allowed me to get well much quicker. I couldn’t have done it without them. To me, this program is a blessing.”