Today’s Wound Clinic Appoints New Editorial Advisory Board Members

Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC) is proud to announce the addition of seven new members to its editorial advisory board. The following appointments are effective as of Jan. 1. 

Frank Aviles, Jr., PT, CWS, FACCWS, CLT 

A physical therapist who devotes much of his work to patients residing in rural areas, Aviles received his PT degree in 1991 from Florida A&M, where his passion for wound care began. A member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) since 1990, he’s also a board-certified wound specialist through the American Academy of Wound Management (since 2007), a fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists, a member of the APTA’s Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology & Wound Management, a certified lymphedema therapist (since 2010), and is currently working on his board examination through the Lymphology Association of North America. One who has served on multiple wound management task force committees, Aviles is also a member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care and is currently pursuing the certified hyperbaric technologist credential through the National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology. 

His passion to learn and to educate others has led to work opportunities with continuing education companies, as a consultant/advisor, and for a speaker’s bureau with multiple industry partners. He has lectured at the local, national, and international level. An instructor and advisor for the Academy of Lymphatic Studies, Aviles has also presented multiple posters at various conferences and has published articles, columns, and book chapters for multiple publications. In 2005, he launched, hosted, and moderated multidisciplinary wound care educational events in his hometown of Natchitoches, LA, that in 2010 transitioned into a series of Wound Healing Roundtable seminars that provide evidence-based education on wound care and products for healthcare professionals. Aviles has also developed a shadowing/preceptorship program utilized by multiple facilities in his region for college students in various medical fields and for existing clinicians to increase their wound care education and to observe how staffs work together to provide optimal results.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Aviles began to travel to various hospital systems in an effort to help educate, develop, and/or institute formal multidisciplinary skin/wound care programs. He holds other therapy designations and has worked in every setting throughout the continuum while serving in supervisory and/or director roles of therapy departments. In 2010, Aviles opened Cane River Therapy Services LLC in Natchitoches, a business that he operates and for which he serves as a PT/wound care consultant (especially as it pertains to patients with limited resources). His long-held vision of launching a local hospital-based outpatient wound care center became a reality when he initiated and assisted in the opening of wound care services at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (NRMC), where he serves as wound care service line director and wound care center board member, in April 2015. In addition to working with physicians, marketing, education, and program development teams, Aviles oversees and actively works within all NRMC settings, including acute care, outpatient care, long-term care, long-term acute care, and community outreach. His column, Let’s Be Frank, publishes regularly in TWC. 

Shaun Carpenter, MD, FAPWCA, CWSP 

Dr. Carpenter is a certified wound specialist physician who has specialized in wound and hyperbaric medicine since 2004. He graduated college from the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in molecular and cell biology, and received his medical doctorate from Tulane Medical School. He was subsequently board certified in emergency medicine after completing his residency at Louisiana State University-Charity Hospital, New Orleans, in 2004. Over the past decade, Dr. Carpenter has developed an aggressive wound healing program for hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. He’s the inventor of TeleWound,^TM a process by which homebound patients receive aggressive wound healing via telemedicine. He also has several patents pending for wound products and devices, including the Carpenter Curette^TM surgical wound debridement instrument. Dr. Carpenter also serves as director of wound medicine for Baton Rouge (LA) General Hospital; Post Acute Medical Specialty Hospital of Covington, LA; and Promise Hospital of Baton Rouge. A national speaker who’s recognized as one of the top experts in his field and one who has authored several abstracts and publications to advance the specialty of wound medicine, Carpenter is the founder and chief executive officer of MedCentris, a comprehensive wound management company with facilities throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and California. MedCentris Specialty Group is made up of highly trained physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners currently involved in the treatment of several thousand wound patients across the country. MedCentris’ comprehensive wound management programs are dedicated to helping hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics achieve maximum healing rates while maintaining cost-effective care. 

Kara S. Couch, MS, CRNP, CWS 

Couch is a family nurse practitioner and certified wound specialist who graduated with her master’s of science in nursing from Georgetown University in 2002. One who has practiced as an NP solely in wound care ever since, Couch earned her CWS through the American Board of Wound Management in 2004 and became recertified in 2014. Her primary wound interests are in amputee care, wound infection, and venous ulcers. She spent seven years at the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, and then spent five years running the wound team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. Currently, she works as an NP in the Wound Healing and Limb Preservation Center at George Washington (GW) University Hospital, Washington, DC. She is adjunct clinical faculty for the department of physical therapy at GW. Couch is also a board member of both the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders and the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC). She has been a member of the AAWC’s guidelines committee for more than 6 years and has served as co-chair of the International Consolidated Venous Ulcer Guideline, which was recently updated and resubmitted to the National Guidelines Clearinghouse, since 2015. Her work with the Alliance focuses on healthcare policy and coverage/reimbursement issues. Couch is the liaison for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners to the Alliance. Teaching residents, medical, nursing, and physical therapy students is one of her passions. Couch lectures nationally on various wound care topics and is the primary author or co-author of numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. 

Helen B. Gelly, MD, FUHM, FACCWS, UHM/ABPM 

Chief executive officer and founder of HyperbaRXs, Marietta, GA, Dr. Gelly is emeritus medical director of the Hyperbaric Physicians of Georgia, Atlanta, and is subspecialty certified in undersea and hyperbaric medicine by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). An assistant professor of emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine from 1984-98, she is currently a fellow of the UHMS and the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine, and was a founding fellow of the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists. Dr. Gelly has practiced hyperbaric medicine and wound care since 1991 and is co-chair of the UHMS committee on quality, utilization, authorization, and reimbursement as well as a member of the UHMS education committee. She lectures both nationally and internationally on wound healing and hyperbaric medicine, teaching introductory courses on both hyperbaric medicine and wound care. Dr. Gelly’s other areas of interest include policy and regulatory aspects of hyperbaric medicine and wound care. 

Heather Hettrick, PT, PhD, CWS, CLT-LANA, CLWT 

Dr. Hettrick is an associate professor in the physical therapy program at Nova Southeastern University. As a physical therapist, her expertise resides in integumentary dysfunction with clinical specialties in wound, burn, and lymphedema management. One who holds three certifications (including the certified wound specialist by the American Board of Wound Management [ABWM], certified lymphedema therapist by the Academy of Lymphatic Studies, and a dual certification internationally as a certified lymphedema and wound therapist through the International Lymphedema Wound Training Institute), Hettrick maintains a diverse work experience in academia and the private sector. Her more recent employment history includes: assistant professor and director of clinical education, University of New Mexico; vice president of academic affairs and education, Gordian Medical Inc. (doing business as American Medical Technologies), Irvine, CA; clinical assistant professor in the department of physical therapy, New York University; adjunct professor, Drexel University; program coordinator for burn rehabilitation research, William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital; and master clinician, Hospital for Joint Diseases at the Diabetic Foot and Ankle Center – NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Hettrick is a past president of the ABWM and has served on the executive committee and board of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care. She was recently appointed to the board of the World Alliance for Wound and Lymphedema Care and is helping to establish a lymphatic filariasis morbidity plan for the country of Haiti through her active missionary work. Dr. Hettrick is also actively involved in numerous professional organizations, conducts research and publishes in multiple print/online journals, and presents/teaches at the national and international level on integumentary-related issues. 

Audrey Moyer-Harris, BSN, RN, CWCN, MBA 

The program director at Mercy Hospital Jefferson Wound & Hyperbaric Center, Crystal City, MO, Moyer-Harris graduated from Maryville University in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She has worked in the wound care field since 1996, and earned her CWCN in 2000. In 2010, her passion for best practices and healthcare business empowered her to complete her MBA in healthcare administration. Moyer-Harris' experiences encompass wound healing across the continuum and as a clinical specialist focusing on creating limb-preservation programs across the country. She recently launched LEAP Synergies Inc., a not-for-profit organization contracting services to Healthcare facilities seeking to create centers of excellence for limb preservation. Additionally, she’s an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care and the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society^TM (WOCN^®) organization, serving on several committees for both. She has also served on planning panels for conferences as well as presented at regional conferences. In 2014, she received the Industry Nurse of the Year award from the St. Louis WOCN. She is a staunch advocate that vascular assessment of all lower extremity ulcers is mission No. 1. In her spare time, Audrey enjoys family time, traveling, hiking, sightseeing, motorcycle riding, scuba diving, and scrapbooking. 

Roger Shindell, MS, CHPS, CISA 

The chief executive officer of Carosh Compliance Solutions, Crown Point, IN, a national HIPAA compliance consultancy that specializes in HIPAA compliance consulting for small to midsize practices and their business associates, Shindell is chair of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society work group and is a member of the American Health Information Management Association’s privacy and security council. He has more than 30 years of multidisciplinary experience and has served as an advisor and principal to a number of healthcare technology and service companies. His column HIPAA Privacy & Security Compliance publishes in TWC. 

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