The Hyperbaric Medicine Department at Phelps Hospital has been awarded Accreditation with Distinction for its program from the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). This is the second four-year accreditation Phelps has received for its hyperbaric chamber capabilities. The hyperbaric chamber at Phelps can hold 12 people and Phelps says it is the largest, most state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber in the Northeastern United States, measuring 9 feet in diameter and 28 feet long.
When undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients breathe 100 percent pure oxygen while sitting inside a pressurized chamber. The therapy is sometimes used for complicated wounds that don”™t heal, often associated with diabetes. It also is used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness, a hazard of scuba diving.
To be accredited, Phelps had to meet more than 600 requirements, specifications and guidelines particular to hyperbaric and dive medicine set forth by UHMS.
