REACCREDITATION WITH DISTINCTION FOR HOSPITAL

From left: Ritzel Boer, certified hyperbaric RB; Taylor Bodley, certified hyperbaric technologist (CHT); Dr. Owen J. O”™Neill, medical director; Sandra Gurash, CHT; Elizabeth Smykowski, advanced certified hyperbaric RN; JoAnn Marker, CHT, safety officer; Patrick Kelly, technologist; John Sullivan, CHT, safety director; Lubiha Perez, CHT; and Tanisha Hall, Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Department office coordinator.

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (UHM) Department of Phelps Hospital, Northwell Health in Sleepy Hollow has received “Accreditation with Distinction” from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) ”“ the gold standard in hyperbaric facility accreditation, which recognizes those that meet or exceed the highest levels of care and patient safety.

Participation in the UHMS accreditation program requires months of preparation. More than 650 probes into patient safety, facility standards, equipment maintenance and team-member training are rigorously evaluated to ensure the highest quality is maintained within the specialty. Accreditation with Distinction is the highest ranking given by the UHMS.

“This recognition is a testament to the exceptional work our dedicated hyperbaric team performs daily,” said Owen J. O”™Neill, M.D., MPH, founding medical director of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine at the hospital.

Phelps”™ UHM Department opened in December 2006 with the largest hyperbaric chamber in the Northeast, one of only 30 in the nation like it. The chamber can accommodate up to 12 patients at a time.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the UHM Department has safely and successfully performed more than 40,000 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, which involves the use of medical oxygen administered in a pressure chamber at levels higher than atmospheric pressure. This pressure helps oxygen dissolve more rapidly into the blood, advancing its absorption into damaged tissues to promote healing of wounds, serious infections, pressure-related scuba diving injuries, arterial gas embolism and other illnesses.

Phelps Hospital, part of Northwell Health, is a full-service 238-bed acute care community hospital with more than 1,700 employees and 1,100 medical staff members representing 60 medical specialties.

Northwell Health is New York state”™s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 830 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians.