Hurricane Gustav Helps Louisiana Man Experience Piedmont’s Commitment to Caring

Evacuee Forced to Flee Finds Healthcare That Saves Leg

NEWNAN, Ga. (Nov. 12, 2008) – Sixty-four year old Ronald Duver was forced to flee his hometown of Belle Chasse, La. when Hurricane Gustav made landfall in the U.S. in early September.  He found a place to stay with Senoia resident Bill Milling, a friend from his days in the U.S. Navy. 

Duver had been suffering from severe wounds on his legs for more than 6 months, and had been told by doctors at home that his right leg would have to be amputated.  When he and his wife came to Georgia as Hurricane Gustav approached, his friend Milling’s secretary did some research and found wound care at Piedmont Newnan Hospital's Wound Treatment and Hyperbaric Center for Duver. 

Bhavin V. Mehta D.P.M., was the first to treat Duver.  He presented him with a different course of treatment than what he had received in Louisiana.  After being treated for a week at PNH and then returning home once Hurricane Gustav passed, Duver decided to return to Piedmont Newnan Hospital and stay there through mid-October for the rest of his treatment. 

“Dr. Mehta told me that if I stayed with him six weeks, he would fix me,” said Duver. “I can’t say enough about the high-quality care I have received at Piedmont Newnan Hospital.  Everyone has been so great and every time I went to the Center for my treatment I felt like I was going to see my friends.”

Piedmont Newnan Hospital's Wound Treatment and Hyperbaric Center opened in December 2005 to provide patients suffering from chronic, unusual or severe wounds with specialized treatment utilizing the latest technologies.  Wound treatment services offered at Piedmont Newnan Hospital include two hyperbaric pressure chambers and a team of certified wound specialists and two hyperbaric nurse technicians, supported by eight physicians on the medical staff with specialties in surgery, podiatry, internal medicine and infectious disease.  

“The people at Piedmont Newnan took such extraordinary care of me, I had to come back,” said Duver.  “When I finally came back home, my doctors here just couldn’t believe it.”

For more information on Piedmont Newnan Hospital’s Wound Treatment and Hyberbaric Center, visit www.piedmontnewnan.org.