TOLEDO—An anniversary luncheon was held Feb. 4 to celebrate the more than 40 years The Regional Burn Care and Reconstructive Center at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center has been treating burn victims. In that time, more than 6,000 patients have been treated, some staying only a few days and others for months.  

The Burn Team at the Regional Burn Care Center at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center with the proclamation issued by Toledo mayor Carty Finkbeiner in honor of the center’s 40th anniversary. (Photo courtesy of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center)

“Burn care has always been an important part of St. Vincent. The Regional Burn and Reconstructive Center at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center is known and respected around the United States,” says Michael McEachern, president and chief executive officer of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center.

The Regional Burn Care Center is the area’s only burn care center and one of only eight in Ohio. The idea for the center was born out of a need that became apparent when a gasoline truck exploded on the Anthony Wayne Trail in Toledo in 1961, killing four firefighters and injuring 10 others. In December 1967, the idea became a reality when the St. Vincent Regional Burn Care Center was opened.  

The unit originally housed eight beds on the seventh floor of St. V’s. Now located on the first floor, it has four ICU beds and six step-down beds. Its 27-member Burn Team is made up of physicians, nurses, therapists, dieticians and social workers specializing in burn treatment.

“Burn care is not only highly specialized,” says Kim Burkholder, clinical nurse manager of the Burn Center, “but also affects the entire family, not just the individual who is burned.”

Support programs — such as the S.O.A.R. (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery) Program and the Burns Recovered monthly support group — are offered to current burn patients and survivors.  

“By providing patients outlets to express their feelings and opportunities to meet with survivors who have been through similar experiences, we have found that, not only does it aid in the recovery process, it gives them hope and inspires them to get better,” Ms. Burkholder says.

In addition to providing burn care to victims, the Burn Team educates the public on fire prevention and care for survivors. Free programs include lectures for EMS and paramedics and visits to schools, senior centers and churches. Currently, members of the Burn Team are working with 18 counties and their court systems to offer the Face the Facts Firestarter program that is geared toward teens and adolescents who are found playing with matches.