Hospital Spotlight: Care provided by Niagara Health Wound Care team a ‘miracle’: patient

The untrained eye seeing the devastating effects of the infection might wonder how the body could ever recover.

“The body is amazing,” Osisanwo said. “The body heals itself but our role is to help prevent complications, such as infection or inflammation that would delay healing.”

Osisanwo is one of five wound care nurses at Niagara Health trained to identify such wounds early and quickly, and initiate proper treatment. But even with treatment, one out of three people with necrotizing fasciitis dies from the disease. It can also result in scarring, loss of limbs, and sepsis, like in Martilla’s case.

Osisanwo has seen plenty of wounds like this one. Given the complexity of this case, Martilla also required treatment at the Niagara Falls and St. Catharines hospitals, meaning nearly everyone on the Niagara Health Wound Care team has had a hand in her ongoing recovery.

In addition, the team, with their extensive knowledge in wound therapy and dressings, works collaboratively with physicians, nurses and others to help patients coming into the hospital with pressure injuries or bed sores. Left untreated, those, too, can be deadly.

They also work together to prevent or ensure early detection pressure injuries, proactively incorporating best practices, including screening, into daily routines, and teaching other nurses and team members these critical skills.

Carolle Vaillancourt, a registered practical nurse and clinical coach at the Welland Hospital, has worked with Osisanwo as she’s cared for Martilla, and is sharing what she’s learned with nurses she mentors to expand wound care knowledge at Niagara Health.