Fort Smith - Melissa Sikes, MPA/EHCA, has returned home to join Sparks Health System as the director of Sparks Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center.

Sikes was born at Sparks and grew up in Fort Smith where she graduated from Southside High School. After 35 years of pursing her career and education in Texas, she says she's glad to be home. Sikes holds a Masters of Public Administration, Executive Healthcare Administration from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Sikes most recently served as the Corporate Director of Provider Relations at East Texas Regional Healthcare System where she worked closely with executive leadership, physicians and referral hospitals to support the system's growth. Before that, she was a program director of the facility's Healogics, Inc., wound care program.

As the director of Sparks Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center, Sikes oversees daily operations of the clinic and supports providers Dr. Quyen Ha, MD, CWSP, and nurse practitioners Ashley Crow and Kennan Ashton Moore, who conduct more than 650 patient visits a month.

Millions of people across the country are living with physical wounds that haven't healed for months or even years. An aging population and increasing rates of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and the late effects of radiation therapy, contribute to this common problem.

Sparks Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center, a member of the Healogics network, offers advanced therapies to patients suffering from chronic wounds. Untreated, chronic wounds can lead to diminished quality of life and possibly amputation of the affected limb. People with wounds that have not improved with traditional methods of treatment in four weeks may benefit from a visit to Sparks Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center. Your doctor can refer you or you can call directly to make an appointment.