After years of planning, fundraising and building, the Richard M.
Fairbanks Burn Center at Wishard was dedicated in April 2003. The burn
center is one of only 50 burn centers in the United States that is
verified by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn
Association.
Regarded as one of the finest and most progressive burn centers in the United States, the $16-million facility utilizes the most advanced medical techniques and equipment available in the treatment of burns. It was the first burn center in the state and is the only adult burn center that serves central and southern Indiana.
The Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center at Wishard, located above the Emergency Department and IU/Wishard Level I Trauma Center in a newly constructed area of Wishard Memorial Hospital, replaces and expands the original burn center. The burn center includes 11 intensive care patient rooms with state-of-the-art monitoring and environmental controls, two rooms for overnight guests, a new hydrotherapy area, a greatly expanded physical therapy room, a larger waiting area for family and loved ones, a children's play area, and a free-standing operating room.
The majority of communities throughout Indiana send their most severely burned patients to the burn center at Wishard because of its outstanding reputation and geographic location. Each year, more than 350 burn patients are treated as inpatients, and approximately 1,500 are seen as outpatients. Since 1993, the burn center has seen an increase of approximately 15 percent per year in the number of patients treated.
In addition to providing quality burn care, the Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center at Wishard staff handles wounds other than burns and provides a full range of plastic surgery services.
