By The WoundSource Editors

SAWC Interview With Dr. Cathy Wogamon-Harmon

WoundSource Interviewed Dr. Wogamon-Harmon at SAWC to learn more about her presentation as well as her start in the field.

Transcript of SAWC Interview

How long have you been in wound care?

Probably could say I started in wound care back when I first got out of nursing school and I worked on a med search unit. So we had a lot of surgical wounds and things like that but I really, the heart of getting involved in wound care was when I worked in long term care. I had to do assessments that describe the pressure injuries. So I was like, "well, okay." I wanna see what they look like. So once I started to get involved with that the staff would be like, "can you look at this wound? Can you look at that wound? Can you look at this wound?" And I really became very interested in it and actually went ahead and did my wound certification on my own while I worked in long term care and I've been there ever since.

What inspired your work with the veteran population?

That would be my father. He was a World War II, combat wounded veteran, and I grew up with a great respect for the military and all they've done for this country and that's exactly where I wanted to in my career, was with the veteran population.

What did your SAWC session cover?

I'm going to be discussing the homeless veteran and how to provide wound care. So the presentation will start with an understanding of why the veteran becomes homeless, some of the issues that they face, Then I'll be discussing treatment for homeless wound patients, whether it's the veteran or someone else who needs assistance, who is on the street. And then I'll end with some of the services that the V.A has to offer to assist homeless veterans.

What information do you want attendees to take away from this presentation the most?

Probably most and foremost, I want them to understand that the veteran homeless population is a very special population. They have special circumstances and issues that are very different from the regular homeless population. And also if they can glean anything from the care of just a homeless wound patient in particular, that would be fantastic.

Interview Next Week: Executive Director of Wound Care Stakeholders Marcia Nusgart

Next Week’s interview: WoundSource Editorial Board member and Executive Director of Wound Care Stakeholders, Marcia Nusgart, RPh. Marcia will discuss the Stakeholders' beginning, along with future projects.

For more from Dr. Wogamon-Harmon:

See her most recent blog, Periwound Management: Preparation, Protection, Problems here.

The views and opinions expressed in this vlog are solely those of the author, and do not represent the views of WoundSource, HMP Global, its affiliates, or subsidiary companies.