An Inside Look at Sechrist Industries Inc. and Progressive Wound Care

An interview with Ed Pulwer, chief executive officer, president. Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC): How long have you been in wound care, and how did you enter this area of healthcare? Ed Pulwer (EP): I have been with Sechrist Industries, my initial entry into wound care, for 3 years; however, I have more than 30 years’ experience in other medical arenas such as critical care and diagnostics. TWC: What’s your day-to-day role? EP: My responsibilities include all functional areas of the company, such as sales, research and development, marketing, regulatory/quality, manufacturing, etc. Since all Sechrist hyperbaric chambers are made in the US at our Anaheim, CA, facility, we are diligent in making sure that each and every product meets all regulatory and quality standards. TWC: What do you find most rewarding about providing for your industry? EP: Being a part of an organization that is providing a significant therapy and a beneficial medical product to thousands of patients everyday globally. As I watch the reach of hyperbarics and wound care grow each year, it is reassuring to know that our products are there to help people in need. TWC: How would you describe the overall mission of your company? EP: Sechrist is a team of dedicated professionals whose purpose is to identify, develop, and sustain a global offering of high-quality technology and innovative solutions to the healthcare community. We identify and fulfill healthcare opportunities that will improve the quality of patient care, add convenience and efficiency for the practitioner, and provide cost-effective technology applications. TWC: What’s new with Sechrist? EP: We have several new products that will enhance hyperbaric technology for both patients and the clinical environment available in 2013. TWC: How is your company unique? EP: Our People. All employees have a sense of responsibility and passion for the products we manufacture. They know and have seen the benefits to patient care as an example in healing patients with severe wound care issues. TWC: Why are you passionate about the work of your company? EP: As the incidents of nonhealing wounds continue to grow, our passion for providing hyperbaric therapy to thousands worldwide grows. Knowing that the products we make will help patients in the treatment of wounds and improve their quality of life gives meaning to the jobs we do every day. Knowing that we are providing technology that will help patients improve their quality of life is what makes all of us passionate about our company. TWC: How is your company approaching challenges in wound care? EP: From our perspective, one of the main challenges to wound care is the access patients have and the understanding of the benefits and results that can be provided through the use of hyperbaric technology. There are many patients who need access to this type of treatment. To help overcome this, we are working within the medical communities to help people understand the benefit of hyperbaric therapy. Also, many companies providing medical products face the same challenges we do — such as reimbursement. The fact that we can show excellent results helps tremendously in continuing to educate practitioners and the public. TWC: What are your most popular products and/or services? EP: Sechrist’s H-Model Hyperbaric Chambers and our data acquisition software system, H.E.R.O.™ Based on our original pneumatic chamber, the H-Model series of hyperbaric chambers includes key safety features as well as features that improve patient comfort. The H.E.R.O. system is a new product, but one that’s exceedingly popular since it provides the ability to electronically document all aspects of hyperbaric treatment and allows data to be collected for use in other reporting systems. TWC: How do you ensure proper training on products and services? EP: All new customers are trained onsite by our technical service department, and these teams are available 24/7. TWC: What are the future goals for you and your company? EP: We want to increase the awareness of the benefits that hyperbaric therapy provides not only in the medical community but to the public, and take this awareness beyond our borders globally. There are several clinical trials ongoing for new indication, and this is an area that will need industry support and educational programs.

An Inside Look at Progressive Wound Care

An interview with John P. Kennedy, RPh, PhD, clinical advisor Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC): How long have you been in wound care, and how did you enter this area of healthcare? John P. Kennedy (JPK): A little more than 10 years. My career started as a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry. Wound care was not on my radar when I graduated. Ultimately, patients led me here. I began to focus on chronic infection in 2000, which led me to biofilm-based investigations that included chronic wounds. In 2006, I began an academic post that included a clinical component, giving me the opportunity to work with patients again. At this academic post, I continue to focus my clinical and research efforts on bioburden and biofilm-based wound care strategies. TWC: What’s your day-to-day role? JPK: Serving as a clinical advisor and educator to wound care providers who wish to leverage the unique advantages of biofilm-based wound care. TWC: What do you find most rewarding about providing for your industry? JPK: Now that I am “back in the clinic” and talking about patients with other clinicians daily, I get direct feedback on the impact of my work (and the work of others). It’s real, tangible, and unfiltered. Such a perspective drives an expediency that, like it or not, you personally “feel.” The expediency is impossible to avoid, as the patient is right there, right now. The problems just come, day-by-day, ready or not. While the phone calls and cards from patients with dramatically positive outcomes are rewarding and significant, the failures are what keep me up at night. TWC: How would you describe the overall mission of Progressive? JPK: To educate wound care providers on the impact of chronic wound bioburden and affect outcomes through biofilm-based wound care solutions. TWC: What’s new with your company? JPK: From a product line perspective, the expansion of our DNA-guided wound care solutions tops the list. These include topical wound gels used alone or in combination with our negative pressure wound therapy dressings. Within the year, we will be launching the first foam-based, complex iodine dressing in wound care (IodoFoam®). We are excited about IodoFoam and other products that will follow. TWC: How is your company unique? JPK: Progressive is the only wound care company that from inception has focused on bioburden-control-based biofilm paradigms. Our mission was always to bring these biofilm-based solutions to the market, but in the beginning biofilm was largely unknown or underappreciated in wound care. Few corporate partners were interested in pursuing such products. Thankfully, interest in biofilm management has increased dramatically since we began development. TWC: Why are you passionate about the work of your company? JPK: Because I know firsthand from the clinic the difference it makes in outcomes, and the quality of life for our patients. As a clinical advisor, I am creating relationships one clinician at a time, often regarding a single patient. It is the only approach I really know. Collectively, I have learned far more from working with clinical cases than I have shared on any one case, and learning is a lifelong passion for me. TWC: How is your company approaching challenges in wound care? JPK: If by challenges you mean healthcare reform, then in short, improved patient outcomes will be our approach. We have always focused on outcomes and unmet needs as the driver for product development. TWC: What are your most popular products and/or services? JPK: Within our dressing line, the DNA-guided personalized options are clearly the most popular for advanced therapy. Our standard negative pressure wound care sets and topical anti-biofilm gels are also quite popular. TWC: How do you ensure proper training on products and services? JPK: We provide webinars, live continuing education, video, and print materials. The most common subject areas are biofilms, treatment options, molecular (DNA) diagnostics, and strategies for advanced practice. Outside of formal training, clinical advisors are available to address any specific case directly. TWC: What are the future goals for you and your company? JPK: There is no reason why the topical anti-biofilm agents can’t be just as targeted and personalized (microbial DNA guided) as the topical antibiotics we currently provide.   As we grow in volume, it will justify making the anti-biofilm components just as targeted as the antibiotics. There are certainly more standard anti-biofilm solutions that we can bring to market, two of which we hope to launch in the next year. Wound biofilms are extremely diverse, thereby dictating the demand for multiple management solutions. Behind the scenes, we are constantly expanding our research and knowledge base.