“Diversity of care is our key to longevity”- Paul Ferraro, D.O. CEO
Dr. Paul Ferraro, D.O.
His interest in wound care stemmed from a desire to follow his patients’ well-being all the way from surgery through long-term care. He began visiting nursing homes himself, but demand out-grew his availability, so he started bringing in nursing staff.
All of the nursing staff at Surgical Wound Care Services have experienced backgrounds in wound care and a dedicated interest in seeing patients find genuine recovery. They make weekly visits to our nursing home partners to check up on patients and provide regular wound care maintenance. They have direct oversight from Dr. Ferraro, who is on-call whenever surgical services are required and who provides guidance should a patient need a change in direction in their wound care treatment. This level of staff experience and local oversight is unavailable from any of our competitors.
Education:
• Doctorate: University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Bachelor’s: Southwest Missouri State University
• Internship and residency: Western Reserve Hospital
Current positions:
• Director of wound care, Select Specialty Hospital
•Medical Director at Summa Barberton Hospital Wound Care Center
Medical Director at Summa Barberton Hospital Wound Care Center
Director of wound care, Summa Rehab
Associations:
• American College of Osteopathic Surgeons
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Medical Association
Certified Nurse Specialist
Althea was born, raised, educated and spent most of her life in India. She is married with two daughters, both are nurses, married and have kids. Althea served in the Indian Military Nursing Services for about 15 years, traveled all over India. She has been a nurse for over 35 years and has loved each moment of the profession. Coming to this country opened up a lot of opportunities for her, not only for work but education as well. Althea got interested in wounds while working and saw a window of opportunity for career growth. She went back to school, working full time, graduated with BSN from Indiana Wesleyan University, so she could get into the Wound Ostomy Continence School, which required BSN. She completed WOCN certification and continued to obtain MSN and completion of APRN. Finally, after a very long struggle juggling between work, school and being a grandmother, Althea graduated with MSN from Kent State University. She obtained her CNS (Clinical Nurse Specialist) certification. She joined SWCS with Dr. Ferraro in January 2016. Her specialty as an APRN is Adult Gerontology and her passion is wound ostomy care. Althea loves to see the wound heal and help patients in their time of need with ostomy care.
Certified Nurse Practitioner
McKenzie has been a Nurse Practitioner with SWCS since December 2016. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Kent State University in 2012. Previously, she worked as a Registered Nurse at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus in the Heart Failure ICU and St. Thomas Summa Wound Care Center. McKenzie graduated from Malone University’s Master of Science program as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2016. In 2019, McKenzie obtained her Ostomy Care Associate Certification. McKenzie currently rounds in long term care facilities and Select Speciality Hospital in the Youngstown area. Her favorite part of providing wound care is seeing her patients’ every week and forming a relationship with them.
When not at work, McKenzie enjoys spending time outside, gardening, and spending time with her husband and son, Brady.
Certified Adult-Gero Nurse Practitioner
Dorothy was hired by SWCS in June 2019. She graduated from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (CWRU) in Janurary 2019 with a Master of Science in Nursing degree. Her academic career has consisted of a Master of Nursing from CWRU and a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from The Ohio State University. Her nursing career consists of over 18 years of experience with 13 years spent at Summa Wound Care Center in the outpatient setting. She is a current member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. In 2020 she was certified as an Ostomy Certified Associate.
Dorothy is passionate about caring for wounded patients and their families. She was a dedicated case manager and clinical manager during her tenure at Summa. She participated in several Heal Ohio conferences where she presented information on types of wounds and wound care modalities. She believes in quality healthcare delivery and strives for positive patient outcomes and satisfaction. “The best part of caring for wounded patients is having the opportunity of getting to know them, developing a partnering relationship and having the satisfaction of healing them so that they can go on living their lives to the fullest capacity-wound free.”
In her free time, Dorothy enjoys watching her son play high school football and marching in the band. She also enjoys visiting her daughter, siblings and Dad who live in Columbus Ohio.
Certified Nurse Practitioner
Katie was born in Akron, Ohio. Graduated Mogadore High School in 2001 and began her nursing career as a state tested Nursing Assistant. She began her wound care experience at that time while attending her under graduate education at the University of Akron. Katie completed her Bachelors degree in Nursing with a minor in Psychology at Walsh University in 2008. She then completed her MSN while working full time as the regional wound and ostomy RN at Summa Wadsworth and Barberton Hospital for 5 years. Katie obtained her Wound Care Certification in 2012 and Ostomy Management Specialist in 2013.
Katie has been married since 2010 and has a beautiful daughter, Isabella. Katie enjoys baking, gardening and spending time with her family.
Certified Nurse Practitioner
Chelsea was born in Cleveland, Ohio and had a passion for helping people since she was little. She graduated from the University of Akron with her bachelor degree in nursing in 2015, and started working in a local emergency department in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. While working in the emergency department, her love for wound care evolved as she assisted with acute and chronic wounds. Shortly after working as a registered nurse, Chelsea attended Kent State University and obtained her masters degree in nursing in 2019 as a family nurse practitioner. In 2019, she started practicing as a family medicine provider who also provided wound care in local long term care facilities and assisted living centers. Her passion for providing wound care to others continued to grow, and in 2020 she obtained her wound care certification (WCC) through the national alliance of wound care and ostomy (NAWCO). Chelsea loves being able to help patients with their wound care goals and strive for the best outcomes and possibilities.
In her free time, she enjoys gardening, taking care of her little farm, and spending time with her family and friends (especially her husband and son, Emmett!)
Originally from Bradenton, Florida, Katie, and her family moved to Ohio six years ago. While in Florida, Katie received her Associates Degree in Nursing in 2005. Katie’s career started as a cardiac floor nurse. From there she cared for acute and chronic wounds in nursing facilities, and for the past ten years Katie’s focused on outpatient wound care as a Case Manager and Clinical Nurse Manager. Within the last five years, Katie has received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Chamberlain University College of Nursing in 2019. Katie graduated from Walsh University’s Master of Science program as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2021. Her favorite part of providing wound care is the relationships that are built, seeing smiling faces when patients heal, and the ability to help the patients get back to their quality of life.
When not working, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband, Shane and their three beautiful daughters, Pacificah, Jenna, and Farrah, along with their three fur babies, Jessa, Emma, and Bella.