NEW ORLEANS – Marrero resident Thomas Kloor, M.D. has just accepted a physician position in New Orleans with Skilled Wound Care, a national company that works with nursing homes and long-term care facilities to treat patients with pressure ulcer wounds. These wounds affect some 2.5 million Americans each year, resulting in 60,000 deaths annually. In his new capacity, Kloor will visit New Orleans area facilities to evaluate patients, work with staff on preventing wounds from developing and treating the condition.
Kloor, who has held the director position of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at several Louisiana and Mississippi hospitals over the past 28 years, is among a growing number of physicians who are turning to this new frontier of medicine as they face challenges keeping their practices afloat.
The number of Americans aged 65 and older is the fastest growing demographic representing more than 40 million people or 13% of the population. That number is expected to double in the next 25 years thanks to aging baby boomers and longer life expectancy.
A recent report revealed that the number of those with pressure ulcer wounds (now at an estimated 3 million Americans) is growing at an alarming rate with a 63% increase in the past decade alone at a cost to our healthcare system of $1 billion each year.
