When a wound in Henry Bonner’s left leg wouldn’t heal, LincolnHealth Wound Care Center providers gave him back his quality of life.

For more than a year, a serious wound left Bonner, now 91, confined to a wheelchair, his feet so swollen he couldn’t wear shoes. At one point he was hospitalized for about 10 days as a result of a deep infection.

After three months of treatment at the LincolnHealth Wound Care Center this spring, the wound was mostly healed and Henry’s feet were back to normal. This summer, he was able to walk and do the things he enjoys again.

Jen Bonner, Henry’s daughter, said it was the compassion and professionalism of the Wound Care Center’s providers, including Medical Director Mark Mainella, DO, and Clinical Coordinator Susan Papineau, RN, WCC, that made her father’s care so exceptional.

“They are just wonderful,” said Jen Bonner. “It was always such a positive experience that he used to look forward to it. The doctor’s visit was important and he got a thorough holistic approach. We always talked about nutrition and exercise .... They even helped him get the right socks. They were extremely thorough.”

A partnership between LincolnHealth and Healogics, a national leader in wound care and wound care research, the LincolnHealth Wound Care Center in Boothbay Harbor features local providers using the latest techniques and technology to ensure every wound heals as quickly as possible.

Lincoln Medical Partners Surgeon Mark Mainella, DO, medical director of the facility, said working with Healogics means being able to offer patients the highest level of care available.

Difficult-to-heal wounds are a real problem, said Mainella, particularly for older people or people with several different chronic medical conditions.

“We have a large elderly population. We have a large diabetic population and so you see complicated, sick, older patients, often with traumatic injuries that are difficult to heal because of the underlying medical problems,” said Dr. Mainella.

With the largest database of wounds in the United States and its own training facility, Healogics can offer providers access to the latest advances in wound care. Mainella said they have also developed algorithms that standardize treatment to speed up the healing process.

“Some of the center’s first patients had wounds that had been unhealed for several years,” said Mainella. “Seeing those patients make great progress, and in some cases heal completely in just a few months, is satisfying.”

For each patient, the goal is the same: “To help them heal as quickly as possible so they can have a better quality of life,” said Mainella.