Leading-edge equipment improves patient care at Misericordia Wound Care Clinic

Thanks to the generosity of Covenant Foundation donors, patients with lower leg wounds are receiving more comfortable and effective care with the help of a brand-new Koven Doppler machine at Covenant Health’s Misericordia Community Hospital Wound Care Clinic.

“This machine really does improve our patient outcomes,” says Anita Morgan, a registered nurse in the Misericordia Wound Care Clinic, where the Koven Doppler is used four to five times each week. “It helps us determine the patient care plan to give them the best outcome and quality of life.”

When a patient visits the Wound Care Clinic, clinicians complete an assessment of the individual’s wound to understand how to best support healing. The new $13,600 machine helps by providing an assessment of blood flow in the lower leg. Using the rich data from the machine, the clinic’s healthcare team can then determine what the next steps are to best help each patient on their healing journey.

“The Koven Doppler has greatly enhanced patient care in our Wound Care Clinic,” says Erin Meikle, program manager of rehabilitation medicine and ambulatory services. “Compared to our previous Dopplers, this machine is faster, more accurate, provides better imaging, and creates a professional report that can be shared with patients and referring physicians.”

Clinicians use the Koven Doppler’s assessments to maximize the impact of their multi-disciplinary team’s “wraparound approach,” which involves a range of care providers including doctors, dieticians, rehabilitation staff, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and registered nurses.

“It’s the initial assessment that paves the path to developing the care plan and the team’s approach to healing the wound,” explains Erin. “By having the Koven Doppler and an accurate assessment, it allows the team to come up with a care plan much quicker and more accurately so each person that’s involved in the clinic can know their role to assist in healing that wound.”

One of the main benefits of having the Koven Doppler in the Wound Care Clinic since November 2021 is patients no longer have to go elsewhere to get testing done before they receive treatment.

“We can make assessments in-house and create treatment plans,” explains Nancy Maykut, unit manager for the Misericordia Ambulatory Clinics. If further follow-up is required, then we can refer the patient for a vascular consult.”

Having access to this state-of-the-art machine reduces the amount of traveling patients need to do and helps clinicians make efficient decisions about treatment.

“With this piece of equipment, we can make very timely decisions for the patients’ care to get those best outcomes,” explains Anita. “When you’re dealing with wounds, that’s so very important.”

Not only is the Koven Doppler fast, but it’s also more accurate than previous Dopplers. It allows for a greater range of testing sensitivity and can be operated using an automatic mode that reduces interpreter error.

“That’s a real benefit to know that we have good data results,” says Anita.

The user-friendly Koven Doppler also provides printouts of results that follow the patient on their care plan. Results are accurate for up to a year, which means they can be given to the patient, the referring physician and other care providers such as vascular surgeons to reduce the need for the patient to undergo additional tests.

From the patient’s perspective, the Koven Doppler provides a more comfortable experience because its speed minimizes the amount of time a patient needs to lie flat during an assessment.

“The Koven Doppler is very patient-friendly,” says Anita. “We can hook up all the sites at once and testing can be done within two to three minutes.”

Such a quick and comfortable assessment makes a difference for patients served at the clinic who often have multiple comorbidities and require specialty care for complex needs such as chronic diabetic wounds and pressure injuries. The staff at the Wound Care Clinic are grateful to be able to provide a high level of compassionate care, and they’re appreciative of the donors who help Covenant Foundation provide clinicians with access to leading-edge equipment like the Koven Doppler.

“It’s so wonderful to have the Covenant Foundation to support our programs and departments because these state-of-the-art pieces of equipment can be very expensive,” says Erin.

To the donors who made the purchase of the Koven Doppler possible, Anita says, “We would like to say thank you very much because having this state-of-the-art technology accessible to our clinic gives the best outcomes for everybody. This has been such a blessing for our clinic and we’re very grateful.”

To help provide leading-edge equipment like the Koven Doppler in Covenant hospitals, please visit our online donation page.

Written by: Kate Dawson