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Release Date: 7/20/2007
Wound Treatment Center Patient ‘Pays It Forward’
Janette Dietzler, clinical supervisor, (left), and Amy Hughey, R.N., (right), treat and dress the wound of Elvis Moss at St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s Wound Treatment Center.
Betty Halliday, 89, believes one good turn deserves another. So, when she was “very pleased” with her recent treatment at St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s Wound Treatment Center, she decided to pass along the good deed.
Halliday donated $1,000 to the Wound Treatment Center, to be used for patients who can’t afford to pay for the supplies they need.
“It’s not a lot of money, but I thought if I could help somebody who needed it, that would be nice,” Halliday said.
Halliday, a widow with three children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, was injured in a mishap in her north county home March 3. She was having her upstairs bathroom remodeled, and was concerned about the positioning of a crated marble vanity.
“It looked dangerous, the way it was sitting, so I tried to reposition it,” Halliday said. “When I pulled it onto its side, it threw me straight back. I hit my head and the corner of the crate scraped my right leg down to the bone.”
Gerald Lionelli, M.D., a plastic surgeon and medical director of St. Anthony’s Wound Treatment Center, stitched together what he could of Halliday’s torn skin. He then sent her to the Wound Treatment Center, where her leg was re-bandaged and medicated each week to encourage healing. When it had healed enough, Dr. Lionelli performed a skin graft on the leg. Halliday was discharged from care on June 18, but she left behind a gift to help make life a little easier for others undergoing wound treatment.
“The people at the Wound Treatment Center were wonderful, always so cheerful and nice,” Halliday said. “I was very pleased with the service they provided to me. As a way to honor Dr. Lionelli, I decided to make a donation to the Center for people who might have a hard time paying for those extra supplies that you need to use at home. I did it as a ‘thank you’ to the doctor and the staff at St. Anthony’s Wound Treatment Center.”
Ellie Sicola, director of the Wound Treatment Center and of St. Anthony’s Senior Services, said the staff was excited – and surprised by – the generous, unsolicited donation. “Many patients come back to thank us, visit us, bring us little treats,” Sicola said. “But no patient has ever thanked us in this way before. It’s a very meaningful gesture – helping other people who need it.”
St. Anthony’s Wound Treatment Center opened June 28, 2006 and has served some 313 patients and recorded more than 2,155 visits during its first year of operation. “Our goal is to prevent amputations, improve healing, alleviate pain and increase the quality of life for people with chronic wounds,” Sicola said. “There was a real need for this service in south county and Jefferson County that hadn’t been addressed.”
St. Anthony’s Wound Treatment Center is located in Suite 175 of St. Anthony’s Medical Plaza, 12700 Southfork Road. For more information or for an appointment, call 314-525-1798.
For information, please call our Health Access Line at 314-ANTHONY (268-4669) or 800-554-9550 or visit our find a physician online.
At St. Anthony's, our vision is to be the area's premier health care organization — and your first choice for health care services.