Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Adds Additional Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - June 18, 2013 - PRLog -- DAYTONA BEACH – Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center recently added a fourth Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) chamber, increasing the number of patients with chronic or non-healing wounds who can be treated.

The hospital, which already had three HBO chambers, said they had more patients needing treatment than they could serve. In order to meet the needs of patients, the Daytona Beach hospital added a fourth HBO chamber which was approximately $100,000 investment in local wound-healing care.

“We had extensive waiting lists and a growing patient demand for treatment,” said Joan Hofmann, Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Nurse Manager at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach. “With our additional HBO chamber, we are able to meet the needs of the community without delay and no longer need to postpone treatments because of a growing waiting list.”

During HBO, patients breathe 100 percent oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Since the air pressure is raised up to three times higher than normal air pressure, a patient’s lungs can take in three times more oxygen than when breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. The blood then carries this oxygen throughout the body, stimulating the release of stem cells and the growth of new blood vessels, killing certain types of infection and enhancing wound healing.

“One common element of chronic wounds is that they are all hypoxic – meaning low on oxygen, hence the need for HBO. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment maximizes oxygen delivery, which promotes the growth of new blood vessels, and thereby increasing wound-healing rates,” said Hofmann. “You can generally see improvement within 20 treatments.”

Non-healing wounds are caused by circulatory problems, poorly functioning veins and immobility, something common to diabetics. Each year, approximately 5.7 million Americans get chronic wounds, and these non-healing wounds can lead to serious complications. Patients with open wounds that are untreated are at risk for infection, amputation and death.

For diabetics, ulcerations of the feet, wound infection and progressive tissue loss are a major source of illness and mortality. A quarter of all diabetic patients will experience a diabetic foot ulcer. More troubling still is that each year, approximately 800,000 limb amputations will be performed because an ulcer has become so severe, an amputation must be performed in order to save a leg or the patient’s life. With 1.6 million new cases of diabetes diagnosed each year, it is easy to see why the area has experienced a growing demand for HBO Therapy.

“The financial and social impact to chronic non-healing wounds is significant,” said Hofmann. “HBO can heal these wounds faster, which improves a patient’s quality of life and reduces the wound’s financial impact.”  

About Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center
Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a nonprofit health-care organization committed to hope, health and healing. A recipient of the 2012 Florida Governor’s Sterling Award for performance excellence, and named the safest hospital in the state by Consumer Reports, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a national leader in patient experience. The medical center includes two hospitals in Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach, a Comprehensive Cancer Center on the main campus in Daytona Beach, an outpatient facility in Port Orange, and an imaging center. With more than 1,800 employees and employed physicians, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a member of Adventist Health System which operates 44 hospitals in 10 states. For more information, call (386) 231-6000 or visit http://www.floridahospital.com/memorial-medical-center.

Photo Caption:
Ormond Beach resident Michael Whyte, 52, lies in Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center’s newest Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) chamber. Whyte was recently in a car accident and has already undergone 48 treatments, or dives, to help heal a traumatic wound on his foot. The hospital recently added a fourth HBO chamber so they could treat more patients like Whyte with chronic or non-healing wounds.