T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Staff from UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown’s Wound Healing Center, led by Program Director Chanda Bovenmyer, center, and Medical Director Dr. Milt Van Gundy, right, both holding plaques, are all smiles as they celebrate Center of Distinction and Center of Excellence awards from the Healogics Co. Wednesday at UPH-M Medical Park. Kim Kirschbaum of Healogics, far right, presented the awards. The team competed against hundreds of hospitals nationwide.

Winners never tire of challenging themselves to attain distinction and excellence.

That clearly applies to the Wound Healing Center team at UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown.

For the second consecutive year they were presented a Center of Distinction award by Kim Kirschbaum of Healogics, a Jacksonville, Fla. based company.

Healogics supplied UPH-M two hyperbaric oxygen chambers for use in wound care.

Hyberbaric oxygen therapy helps the body’s oxygen-dependent, wound-healing mechanisms function more efficiently.

But Kirschbaum of Lake Mills was not done.

She also presented the team the esteemed Center of Excellence award.

The WHC achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction higher than 92 percent, and a minimum wound healing rate of at least 91 percent within 30 median days to heal. In order to achieve this Center of Excellence, the WHC must maintain these numbers for 24 consecutive months.

In both awards, the WHC team exceeded several of the benchmarks.

Accepting the awards on behalf of the team were WHC Program Director Chanda Bovenmeyer and WHC Medical Director Dr. Milt Van Gundy.

From diabetic ulcers to traumatic wounds to burns, patients who come to the WHC seek help and relief.

They receive both in addition to special care from a team of professionals.

“Over 6.8 million Americans have diabetes,” said Kirschbaum. “And those numbers keep growing every year. It is important to have a service provider such as this to treat community members in their own back yard. And it is a true honor to present these awards.”

UPH-M is one of 800 hospitals in the Healogics network.

In addition to two handsome plaques, grins, handshakes and smiles were in abundance as UPH-M staff, board members, colleagues, family, friends and patients helped celebrate after Kirschbaum’s remarks.

Van Gundy of Marshalltown was thrilled.

“The real pleasure to me is a whole team makes this happen,” he said. “It is not just me, or Chanda, everybody contributes, from staff out front to the folks who fix up patients when they leave. The criteria has been meet … that puts us in the top 30 percent. We continue to achieve in the second year. It is like the National Basketball Association players, when you reach that championship level it is really something.”

For more information, contact the WHC, 641-754-8025, or visit unitypoint.org.