Loreto decompression chamber

[ripcurl]

Where is the nearest decompression chamber to Loretto, Mexico? Doesn't seem to be one in the town.

 

[diversteve]

Cancun or Playa Del Carmen most likely. Or Cabo San Lucas?
Not sure how current this is:
London Recompression & Hyperbaric facilities - The London Diving Chamber

 

[Sam Miller III]

SCRIPS hospital in San Diego California USA

 

[DandyDon]

SCRIPS hospital in San Diego California USA

So, DAN says to seek medicare care immediately, then call them. But evacuation flights have to be set up by them before transport to get them to pay for it. I guess you'd want your dive bud to get them on the phone on the way to a doctor and keep them on while you get initial treatment until they approve sending a plane.

 

[UTscuba]

I believe it's in La Paz, (Baja) which is about a 200 mile/350km drive south over mountain roads with a max elevation of ~1000ft.

Hyperbaric chamber in La Paz

 

[Sam Miller III]

@UTscuba
You are so correct !
However, there is a huge differenced between the facilities and quality of doctors of La Paz vs

where it all began in the US the huge San Diego Scripps hospital with their state of the art highly trained personnel.​

But depending on severity of the affliction- any safe harbor in the storm is better than no harbor.

It is noted you are from the lovely snow bound dive center called Utah … Welcome to SCUBA board. Many of the pioneer divers had origins in Utah
SDM

 

[Akimbo]

It doesn't look like the Scripps Memorial Hospital Hyperbaric Center (La Jolla, CA) is available for emergency services, which would include DCS. UCSD's HBOT facility (San Diego's Hillcrest Hospital) indicates they do:

"UC San Diego operates the only hyperbaric chamber in the county open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Open since 1984, our team is ready for all wound and hyperbaric emergencies."

I can't speak to the accuracy of the above statement but it is a large multiplace chamber facility. Maybe @Duke Dive Medicine knows if this is accurate. I did a little design work on their first chamber in the early 1980s for the manufacturer, San Diego Shipbuilding & Repair Inc.

 

[DandyDon]

It's good to know the resources available, but you'd probably want DAN or other dive insurance to pay for the plane ride to wherever - so you'd need to have them arrange it, the only way any of them will pay for the plane. They should be coordinating the chamber visit and the rest.

 

[UTscuba]

@UTscuba
It is noted you are from the lovely snow bound dive center called Utah … Welcome to SCUBA board. Many of the pioneer divers had origins in Utah
SDM

lol thank you, altitude tables, hot springs and zero viz is the Utah way

 

[pauldw]

lol thank you, altitude tables, hot springs and zero viz is the Utah way

We're supposed to be taking altitude under consideration? But I'm down in a valley!