Blessing Hospital dietitian participates in national presentation on management of chronic wounds

QUINCY — Hamilton (Garrett) McSwain, dietitian at Blessing Hospital, recently participated in a national presentation titled, “More than skin deep: Nutrition management of the chronic wound.”

McSwain spent two years working with Blessing Hospital’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center team to create a nutrition-based wound care protocol that allows for earlier identification and assessment of wound patients who require nutritional interventions to help improve their wound healing. His work included data collection, research tracking, policy development and in-service staff training.

During the national continuing education presentation, McSwain helped caregivers from around the country understand how to use wound care quality improvement data to develop and establish their own nutrition-based wound care protocol within an inpatient setting.                    

An Army veteran, McSwain holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Western Illinois University in Macomb. As an Aramark employee, he provides medical nutrition therapy for various disease states with an emphasis in geriatrics and cardiovascular critical care management at Blessing Hospital. He also is a consulting dietitian at area nursing homes and a preceptor to Aramark dietitians.