Boyd Miller with the Choctaw Nation’s Preferred Supplier Program stands with business owners Charlotte Burris and Shane Cessnun. Burris and Cessnun teamed up to start a new business, the BCW Group, with the help of Miller.
Dedicated to Diabetic Care and Staph Prevention
By Brandon Frye
Choctaw Nation
Durant, Okla. - Shane Cessnun, a Choctaw born and raised in Denison, Texas, saw a need and dedicated his entrepreneurial efforts to aiding the Native population in Choctaw Country.
Wound care is his focus, and it is a balance of preventative and restorative measures. It saves limbs, toes, and legs from being amputated, keeps deadly microorganisms from spreading, and helps patients maintain a healthy lifestyle so sores and injuries will not develop again.
“The goal is to offer a high quality service with all of the new technologies alongside the traditional therapies,” Cessnun said.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service, American Indians are 2.2 times more likely to have diabetes compared to Caucasians.
Cessnun aims to work alongside the healthcare of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) in these ways. For the last 18 years, CNO has offered specialized care to patients with diabetes–what started with a small team in a nursing home has grown to a full Diabetes Care Clinic at the hospital in Talihina.
“We have continuously grown and provided better care,” Janet Maddox, RN, CDE and Clinic Supervisor for the Diabetes Wellness Center, said. “We’ve got educators out in the communities. We have endocrinologists, dieticians, and case managers. We have a structured, accredited program we provide for our patients.”
To add to these efforts, Cessnun developed two businesses, each working hand-in-hand. Advanced Wound Care, located in Sherman, Texas, heals wounds before they require amputation. And the BCW Group creates clean environments to control infectious contaminants which could lead to more wounds.
Cessnun enlisted a number of physicians and experts in the field of wound management and preventative surgery to help offer treatment and guidance.
Dr. Mark Dickson is Cessnun’s partner, and currently works at the limb salvage clinic in Sherman. He said he heals wounds within 16 weeks, though many patients come in with wounds which have been there for longer.
“If you don’t heal the wound, eventually it will get worse and impact the rest of the limb. Ultimately, if you don’t do anything, it can kill the patient,” Mark Dickson, a general surgeon specializing in minimally invasive surgery, said. When a wound won’t heal, there is usually a problem with the immune system or blood supply, Dickson explained. And for people living with diabetes, there are many biochemical reasons why immune systems don’t work correctly and blood doesn’t flow.
The other thing diabetes does is impair the walls of the very small arterial vessels, which can become thick and blocked off from years of extra sugar, preventing proper blood flow to wounds.
Additionally, if there is too much sugar, it helps bacteria to grow faster, damaging healthy flesh around wounds.
But diabetes is not the only negative contributor to risky wounds, lifestyle choices play a role. “Smoking is a big problem,” Dickson said, “And if someone is malnourished or taking certain medicines like steroids.”
Cessnun is currently working to open more wound care centers within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation.
With the help of Boyd Miller and the CNO Preferred Supplier Program, Cessnun and Dr. Jason Willis joined up with Charlotte Burris to found the BCW Group.
Boyd Miller, Director of the Choctaw Nation Preferred Supplier Program (PSP) said after working with both Cessnun and Burris, he saw how their business goals fit together. Bringing Native business owners in contact with the right people is one of the services the PSP offers. In this case, Cessnun had past experience with medical supplies, and Burris who is also Native from Tuskahoma, has a background in interiors and materials. She has worked in the commercial design industry for six years. She brings to the table not only design but a straight forward approach to product specifications, budgets and contracts. She, like Cessnun, has a passion for caring for our people and culture.
They, together with direction from a board certified doctor in infectious disease, promote clean products and procedures that will greatly reduce the risk of contracting staph and other bacteria. These clean environments are created not only in new construction but also existing facilities.
After meeting up, the two founded the BCW group. This business maintains healthy environments using antimicrobial protection and infection control assessment. It is a local Native American and female owned company.
There is a risk with patients who are recovering from wounds or infections. Once they leave the sterile, safe environment of clinics and centers, they re-enter spaces which pose the same threats which harmed them in the first place.
“They can be treated, go home, and in four or five months they are back with an infection,” Cessnun said. He explained, most people with a healthy immune system can fight off these infections. But, again, people with diabetes can have impaired immune systems, poor circulation, and a tendency to develop wounds which harbor infection.
To combat this, the BCW Group sterilizes spaces with a revolutionary product. The treatment ruptures microorganisms found on most hard surfaces, and the non-detectable substance stays put for a year preventing further contamination.
BCW Group also works with facilities to get them in alignment with state and federal regulations. Taking it a step forward, the group developed a certification called H.E.I.D.I. or the Healthy Environment Institute against Dangerous Infections. H.E.I.D.I. takes a more strict look at federal regulations and expects more in terms of infection protection. In addition to creating programs like H.E.I.D.I., they also have the drive to use a sustainable, recycled materials. “An important part of responsible product design lies in material selection. Choosing the right raw materials—rapidly renewable materials—we use materials made with a high percentage of recycled content, as well as such renewable materials as wheat board, soy board, sunflower board, linoleum, cork, rubberwood, soy-blend foams, recycled seat belts, and more. In addition, we take the same approach to textiles and fabrics, ensuring that each selection is appropriate for its environment. By using unique materials we are able to provide healthy environments that inhibit the spread and growth of viruses, staph, and other life-threatening bacteria.”
Anyone looking to protect a space from infectious disease can email the BCW Group at info@bcwgroup.net or visit www.bcwgroup.net. For product information contact Charlotte Burris at 918-441-5731.