Successful wound healing training at Maui Memorial aims to decrease limb amputations

Maui Health recently held its second annual Maui Wound Healing Symposium on Jan. 31, 2025, at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Despite severe weather and thunderstorms leading up to the event, nearly 80 local clinicians—including doctors, nurses and nursing students—attended to learn critical wound healing skills, with a focus on healing diabetic and associated foot ulcers.

In partnership with RestorixHealth, a recognized leader in wound healing, the event emphasized the critical importance of specialized wound care in Maui amongst the nurses, doctors and other Maui clinicians in attendance.

The symposium also highlighted the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, an advanced treatment that utilizes oxygen under pressure to accelerate the body’s natural healing processes. Maui Memorial’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy clinic offers two of only five total medical-grade HBO chambers available in the state of Hawaiʻi.

Chronic wounds affect an estimated 10.5 million Americans, according to Medicare data, a number that continues to rise. Specialized wound care not only expedites healing but also helps prevent infections and limb loss.

Wound Care and Hyperbaric Therapy Program Director Jessica Acop, BSN, RN, MBA, shared her feedback about this year’s Maui Wound Healing Symposium: “Given the high prevalence of diabetes and associated foot wounds in Hawaiʻi, having comprehensive wound care services available on the island is imperativs. The symposium provides education and hands-on training to equip our community healthcare professionals with the advanced knowledge and practical skills needed to implement these techniques effectively. By doing so, we aim to improve patient outcomes, reduce infection rates and decrease limb amputations within our community.”

Acop continued, “We truly enjoyed meeting our community providers, nurses, and fellow peers and hope that the symposium provided them with insight on how to better care for wounds and, therefore, better care for our entire Maui community. We look forward to hosting our third wound healing symposium in January 2026.”

To learn more about the 2025 Wound Healing Symposium, click here.