Side topic Alert!! Deco chambers not available?
http://local15tv.com/news/local/scub...d-away-from-er
Scuba diver almost dies; turned away from E.R.
By Modupe Idowu Monday, April 18th 2016
MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — It is alarming to hear and think about. Emergency diving accident patients have been turned away from some Florida hospitals despite having the equipment to treat them. Local 15 News spoke to one patient who almost died waiting for care in Florida. Doctors say most decompression illnesses can be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It can save a life in the event of a diving accident. Every year thousands of tourists travel to the Florida panhandle to scuba dive into the beautiful waters, but options for hyperbaric oxygen therapy are limited. Local 15 News discovered one small hospital in Mobile, Alabama is handling the majority diving injuries from the Florida panhandle.
Eric Badamyan travelled from Russia to Ponce De Leon, FL to scuba dive at the Vortex Springs resort with friends.
"He showed me, trained me a couple times, tell me what I need to do and then we do free diving, free fall," said Badamyan.
The dive took a turn for the worse.
"I couldn't handle it," said Badamyan. "I feel like I'm not going to breathe."
Badamyan was pulled to shore unconscious and could not breathe on his own. He suffered an arterial gas embolism, an illness with stroke like symptoms.
"So the stroke of the brain caused primarily by paralysis on his right side," said Registered Nurse Julio Garcia. "He couldn't move his right arm or right leg."
He was rushed to Panama City's Bay Medical Sacred Heart in critical condition. For nine hours, doctors searched for a hospital with recompression chambers in the area to treat Badamyan. He was later airlifted to Springhill Medical Center in Mobile. Garcia treated him.
"He was very much in danger of losing his life or having permanent neurological symptoms," said Garcia.
Badamyan and Garcia credit the hyperbaric oxygen therapy for his survival. Just like a stroke, the longer it takes to get treatment, the worse the condition can get.
"We treat them by causing the pressure to increase and by providing 100 percent oxygen," said Garcia. "This helps get rid of that [air] bubble and provides oxygen to the tissues. And it was little response after the first treatment."
The next day, Badamyan went in the chambers for a second round for several hours.
"Within the first five minutes of getting into treatment pressure, he was able to move," said Garcia. "It was like watching a miracle happen. It was incredible."
Badamyan was able to move his arms and legs.
He said," It was hard to move to move my fingers and hands like now I can control my hands."
Badamyan was eventually able to walk.
"Thanks [to] all the boys who helped me out, who called 911," said Badamyan. "I just realized how close I was to death."
Garcia claims Badamyan could have received the same lifesaving treatment at Bay Medical Sacred Heart in Panama City. The hospital has its own chambers, but sent Badmayan to Mobile for treatment. Garcia believes it is a growing trend among Florida hospitals. As a result, Garcia said a number of Florida's diving patients are treated hours away at Springhill Medical Center.
"There's none in the Florida panhandles, none until you get to Orlando that will treat scuba divers in the state of Florida," said Garcia.
Recently, Florida Hospital Orlando closed its doors to patients with diving injuries, according to Garcia.
He claims SMC treated at least 15 diving injuries from the Florida panhandle in 2015.
Dr. Bernard Eichold of the Mobile County Health Department said money and hours of operation play a part for hospitals that decide to shy away from treating diving injuries. Emergency treatments take time and can throw off outpatient sessions.
"It would be nice if the panhandle Florida hospitals who have chambers would set up a rotation and say this week, we will man the chamber 24 hours for this day and the next," said Dr. Eichold. "Like in some cities, they rotate the emergency room calls."
Garcia is concerned for tourists and first responders.
"More importantly to me, [is the welfare of] the public safety officers such as your sheriff's office, your police officers who are doing a service for the public," said Garcia. [What] if they get injured scuba diving and the performance of their duties as a police officer."
According to the Emergency Medical and Treatment Labor Act Law, both private and public hospitals cannot deny patients emergency care. And if a hospital is unable to stabilize a patient, then a transfer should be implemented.
"They have the service. They just won't treat scuba divers. There are over 10 to 12 facilities between Mobile and Tallahassee, Florida that provide hyperbaric services, but they choose not to treat the diving injury," said Garcia.
He said sessions range from less than five minutes to eight hours long. A Bay Medical Sacred Heart spokesperson said the facility in Panama City is not equipped or staffed to treat diving injuries.
The website reads, "We specialize in non-healing and problem wounds as well as selective emergency conditions."
The hospital provided this statement:
Bay Medical Sacred Heart hospital does not treat dive accident victims. The hospital has a hyperbaric oxygen tank for the treatment of wound care patients, but it is not a 24/7 program and is not staffed or equipped to provide the very specialized care needed for diving accidents.
Sacred Heart Hospital released this statement:
Since 2006, the Wound Care Center operated by Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola has offered hyperbaric oxygen therapy for persons with chronic wounds. Our Wound Care Center has two mono-place (single person) hyperbaric chambers, but they are not designed for treatment of decompression sickness. The center has never treated decompression illness and in the past 10 years, we have not been asked to provide emergency care to a diver suffering from decompression illness.
Garcia said he has reached out to Alabama and Florida Lawmakers for help.
Congressman Bradley Byrne's office released this statement:
"My staff and I are aware of the serious problems posed by the lack of hyperbaric care throughout the Gulf Coast. We are proud to have a great facility and dedicated team at Spring Hill Medical Center, but I recognize that more options for care are needed. My office has been in contact with the appropriate agencies about this very issue, and we look forward to finding a solution that ensures divers on the Gulf Coast receive the timely, appropriate care they need."
