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Dr. William Lineaweaver (left) and Dr. Fred Mullins (right) celebrate the opening of Crossgates River Oaks’ burn center ICU.

Crossgates River Oaks Hospital Opens New ICU at State’s Only Inpatient Burn Center

BRANDON—Just in time for the fireworks-infused Independence Day holiday weekend, Crossgates River Oaks Hospital in Brandon opened a new intensive care unit (ICU) for Mississippi’s only inpatient burn center. The timing coincided with the third anniversary of the hospital’s inpatient burn services.

The grand opening for the new ICU was held in the second floor lobby on the campus of 134-bed community hospital mid-afternoon on June 22, with hospital leaders and elected officials pointing out new high-tech equipment and other amenities that were incorporated into the design to improve patient care. Among the presenters: Crossgates CEO J. Allen Tyra; Fred Mullins, MD, medical director and president of The Joseph M. Still Burn Centers Inc.; William C. Lineaweaver, MD, medical director of the local burn center,  Crossgates’ chief of staff Edward Rigdon, MD; state Rep. Steve Holland, who chairs the Mississippi Public Health Committee; and Brandon Fire Chief Rob Martin.

The Burn and Reconstructive Center at Crossgates River Oaks is associated with the Augusta, Ga.-based Joseph M. Still Burn Center—the largest burn care facility in the United States and the third largest worldwide—and affiliated centers in Austell, Ga., and Charleston, SC. Still established the burn center in 1978 after entering an emergency room with a burn and learning that he was unable to be transferred to a specialized care facility. After realizing that no such facility existed in the South, he opened the doors to the burn center, treating 40 patients in the first year.

Mullins called Crossgates’ new burn center ICU “a dream to be able to bring healing and hope closer to home for patients who suffer serious burns.” Mullins and Lineaweaver lead the team.

Since March 2008, the burn clinic—the only one of its kind in the state—has provided inpatient and outpatient care for burn victims not only in Mississippi, but also in surrounding states. Care involves initial and follow-up treatment, including dressing changes, skin debridement and skin grafts. At the time of its original opening in 2008, the clinic provided follow-up treatment for burn patients twice monthly. By 2009, the burn clinic was averaging 30 to 45 patients daily.

Last year, Crossgates treated 325 burn inpatients with services including the treatment of non-critical burns, continued treatment of outpatient burn injuries, comprehensive follow-up care, and reconstructive procedures. Also in 2010, Crossgates provided some 5,000 outpatient treatments in the burn center.

The $2 million addition includes six ICU beds for burn victims, and nine step-down beds to handle more serious burn cases.

“With the new burn center expanding its services to both inpatient care and outpatient care five days a week, the patient care numbers are expected to triple,” said Tyra.

After a rash of firefighter injuries across the United States, including a four-alarm arson fire last month in the top two floors of a 5-story medical office building adjacent to Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, that left a captain dead and another firefighter in critical condition with several more injured, Amanda Fontaine, executive director of the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Association, said it’s reassuring to know that quality burn care is available in the state.

“Family members of burn patients will no longer have to travel out of state to support their loved ones recovering from injuries,” she said.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, a former fire instructor for the State Fire Academy and a fire investigator for 16 years, and the Republican gubernatorial candidate for the Nov. 1 general election, said he knew firsthand the devastating effects fires could have. “The burn center,” he emphasized, “is a great addition in helping to save lives here in Mississippi.”

The center staffs specialists in pulmonary and critical care, a pediatrician to treat young burn patients, physical and occupational therapists, a psychiatrist, and a highly-trained, specialized nursing staff.
“We positively want to extinguish the pain and injury of second- and third-degree burns,” said Mullins.

 

Tags:

Crossgates Medical Center Burn and Reconstructive Center, Crossgates River Oaks Hospital, Dr. Fred Mullins., Dr. William C. Lineaweaver, J. Allen Tyra, Joseph M. Still Burn Center

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