Phelps Hyperbaric Medicine Department Achieves Accreditation by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

In the photo are Dr. Owen O’Neill and Elizabeth Smykowski, RN, Nurse Manager of the Hyperbaric Medicine Department at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center standing beside the hyperbaric chamber, one of the largest chambers in the country.

The Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center has received accreditation from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). UHMS is an international non-profit organization serving more than 2,400 members from more than 50 countries. The UHMS clinical hyperbaric medicine facility accreditation program recognizes hyperbaric facilities that meet a high standard of patient care and facility safety.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment during which patients breathe pure oxygen while sitting inside a pressurized chamber. Alone and in combination with standard treatment protocols, it contributes to optimal outcomes for patients because the therapy increases the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood and expedites the growth of new blood vessels. This enables delivery of more oxygen to tissues and organs of the body, which promotes healing of wounds and damaged tissue.

The hyperbaric chamber at Phelps is the largest in the Northeast and one of the largest in the country. The physicians, nurses and technicians who provide treatment make up one of the most qualified teams in the nation, with 100 years of combined experience. All of the members of the Phelps hyperbaric team are board certified by the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology, and all of the nurses also hold certification from the Baromedical Nurses Association.

The effectiveness of the team and the technology was demonstrated recently, when treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning was provided to a local family of nine, all at one time. Phelps’ hyperbaric chamber, roughly the size of the fuselage of a 727 jet, can seat up to 12 people, more than any other hyperbaric chamber in the area. Owen O’Neill, MD, medical director of the Hyperbaric Medicine Department, says, “Most facilities wouldn’t be able to treat so many victims at once, a critical factor when a team of emergency first responders requires hyperbaric care, or, as in this most recent case, an entire family.”

Dr. O’Neill came to Phelps in 2004 and the hyperbaric system was opened for treatment in 2006. “I don’t use the word ‘staff’ because we are a team here,” he said. “Some of us have worked together for 20 years. There are no other hyperbaric centers in the area that have the accumulated experience we have, and that is a very important part of the equation for successful outcomes.”

In order to receive accreditation, clinical hyperbaric facilities must demonstrate their commitment to patient care and facility safety and voluntarily participate in the program. There are more than 600 items examined by a UHMS team of experts. They include staffing and training, equipment installation, operation, maintenance, facility and patient safety and standards of care. �^�!��;