LAWTON – About 5.5 years ago, Harold Taylor had a severe infection in his left foot that turned into a wound, which ultimately caused him to lose the toes on that foot.
The Lawton man originally sought treatment for his wound at another facility, then switched to Comanche County Memorial Hospital’s Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center in Lawton about 2.5 years ago. He was a patient at the Lawton clinic off and on for the next couple of years, as his wound healed and then reopened despite his efforts to keep it closed.
Today, Taylor visits the clinic at 2716 W. Gore Blvd., Suite C, for treatment every Thursday.
Having a wound care center close to home is an advantage for Taylor because the staff treats and protects his wound, he said.
“Secondly, they educate me as to what I can do to make sure the healing is enhanced,” he said. “It also eliminates me from having to have home health (care), because I can do all my dressings and all of those things directly and not have to rely on someone else to do it.”
Taylor shared his story during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house to celebrate the clinic’s expansion and renovation. Doubling number of patient rooms The expansion and renovation project, which cost about $1.2 million, took about one year to complete, CCMH marketing director Nicole Jolly said in an email to a Southwest Ledger reporter. The project boosted the clinic’s square footage, doubling the number of examination rooms from four to eight.
The additional space makes it possible for staff to see more patients and improves the flow of people through the clinic, said Dr. Paul Nioce, who serves as the clinic’s medical director.
“It’s a better patient flow, for sure,” he said. “And it’s a better environment.”
Nioce said the clinic’s partner, the wound-care management company Healogics, provided new chairs to help patients feel more comfortable.