Chamber Vision November and December 2017 | Page 41

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber Installed at
Newman Regional Health Wound Care!
Fall completion of the new Hyperbaric
Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) chamber
is running right on schedule. On
October 19th, 2017 the new chamber
was installed at the Newman Regional
Health Wound Care Clinic.
Having a chamber in Emporia
will greatly benefit those patients
who qualify for treatment but are
physically or financially unable to
make the daily commute out of
town. Transportation is typically a
significant problem with this group
of patients and the closest hyperbaric
chamber is over 50 miles away.
HBOT treatments are recommended
five days a week, last up to 90 minutes
and usually require 20-25 treatments.
The hyperbaric medicine service
will be implemented in a systematic
approach to ensure that the hyperbaric
program provides the following:
highest quality of patient care, staffed
with the appropriately trained spe-
cialists, has an established hyperbaric
safety program, and utilizes docu-
mentation guidelines that comply
with both regulatory and established
industry standards.
What is HBOT? How is HBOT administered?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a
medical treatment which enhances
the body’s natural healing process by
inhalation of 100% oxygen in a total
body chamber, where atmospheric
pressure is increased and controlled.
HBOT promotes muscle, bone
repair, and nerve regeneration
by stimulating angiogenesis. It is
used for a wide variety of treatments
usually as a part of an overall medical
care plan. HBOT is administered in a chamber
of clear acrylic. This allows trained
technicians to closely monitor the
patient and permits the patient to
readily see outside the chamber.
Patients are in constant view and
communication with the attending
technician via an intercom or may
watch a movie, listen to music or just
rest.
Under normal circumstances, oxygen
is transported throughout the body
only by red blood cells. With HBOT,
oxygen is dissolved into the body’s
fluids; such as the plasma, the central
nervous system fluids, the lymph, and
the bone and can be carried to areas
where circulation is diminished or
blocked. Extra oxygen is able to reach
all the damaged tissues and helps
the body to support its own healing
process. The increased oxygen greatly
enhances the ability of white blood
cells to kill bacteria, reduces swelling
and allows new blood vessels to grow
more rapidly in the affected are