Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Intermountain Medical Center
The hyperbaric medicine program at Intermountain Medical Center offers expanded capacities to patients in need.
A new, expanded hyperbaric chamber will help specialists at Intermountain Medical Center treat patients who are poisoned by carbon monoxide and patients with gas embolism, chronic wounds, infections, tissue damage from the late effects of radiation, diving injuries, diabetes-related illnesses, and more. The walk-in, 26-ton chamber has square walls and can treat up to eight patients at a time.
How hyperbaric medicine works
Patients who are poisoned by carbon monoxide are placed in the chamber and administered 100 percent oxygen at pressure two to three times greater than normal sea level pressure. Hyperbaric oxygen helps the healing process by stimulating blood vessel growth and enhancing the immune system's ability to fight infection
The air we breathe is only 21 percent oxygen. Providing 100 percent oxygen in a pressurized hyperbaric chamber greatly increases the amount of oxygen delivered to body tissues by the blood, which enhances the displacement of carbon dioxide or helps diseased tissues heal.
Advantages of the new hospital's hyperbaric service
Intermountain Medical Center Hyperbaric Medicine Center is directed by specialists who have operated the world-renowned hyperbaric program at LDS Hospital for more than 20 years. The new service has both a multi-person chamber and single-person chambers.
The large multi-person chamber offers many advantages over the traditional cylindrical design, including more usable floor space, easier patient transport in and out of the chamber, and increased patient comfort - inside, it looks just like another hospital room. This chamber will also have hypobaric, or reduced pressure, capabilities to simulate increased altitude, which will be used for research and evaluating patients who live or travel to altitude.
Operating single-person chambers in tandem with a multi-person chamber is the optimal configuration for a hyperbaric service. The larger chamber ensures sufficient capacity so patients aren't waiting to begin a course of therapy, and the smaller chambers offer flexibility in treatment timing and oxygen dose. The smaller chambers can also be moved into the intensive care units when patients there need hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Background of the hyperbaric team
The service's medical director, Lindell Weaver, MD, is nationally known for his research in hyperbaric medicine. He's joined at Intermountain Medical Center by James Holm, MD, who has recently joined Intermountain Healthcare and has 10 years of experience in the field. The physicians are joined by nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, and technicians with an average tenure of 10 years in hyperbaric medicine.
The hyperbaric staff at Intermountain Medical Center will continue the tradition of research that has earned the service at LDS Hospital high accolades from physicians across the U.S. Their research has included carbon monoxide poisoning, hyperbaric oxygen in brain injury, and equipment testing and benchmarking in the hyperbaric environment.
The hyperbaric service at Intermountain LDS Hospital is accredited through the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society and the service at Intermountain Medical Center will also seek this accreditation. The service will be staffed 24/7 to accommodate patients who need hyperbaric oxygen therapy on an emergency basis.
Contact Information:
Intermountain Medical Center Hyperbaric Services: 507-5370
LDS Hospital Hyperbaric Services: 408-3623