Dr. Alan Coulson was first introduced to this community two and a half years ago as a general and vascular surgeon for Sandhills Regional Medical Center. Today, he adds wound care specialist to the list.

Coulson recently became a Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Care Specialists. He works at the Sandhills Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, under the direction of Hazel Seibles, program director. He is one of only 23 fellows in the state of North Carolina.

“Dr. Coulson is a wonderful addition to the Wound Care Center,” said Seibles. “He absolutely believes in advanced wound care.”

Coulson’s latest project is researching unusual fungus infections seen at the Wound Care Center. “Like transplantation, wound care combines surgery with exciting advances in cell biology,” he said.

A graduate of Queens’ College of Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, Coulson studied for his Ph. D. in cellular immunology also at Cambridge. He then completed his fellowship in heart surgery at Stanford University in California, and continued research in heart transplantation immunology.

He has published 80 papers and written three books. In 1998, he invented a new vascular technique for dialysis access.

Coulson credits Andy Davis, SHRMC CEO, for the inspiration to start a new career in wound care. “In 40 years experience, Andy Davis is simply the best hospital administrator I have ever encountered,” he said.

“When Dr. Coulson started spending time at our new wound care center, he developed a genuine passion for it,” Davis said. “His interest has now grown into an extension of his expertise and we are all the better because of it.”

The Sandhills Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine was the first wound care center in Richmond County. It offers advanced treatment for hard-to-heal wounds including two hyperbaric chambers. Patients who qualify for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) experience faster wound healing as they breathe in 100 percent oxygen under pressure.

The Wound Care Center is located at 108 Endo Lane, Suite 2, Hamlet. For more information, call (910) 205-1525.