Recompression chamber locations

[Kaiser442]

Okay - first a couple of apologies:
1) I hope this is in the right forum... the only other one that looked appropriate was maybe Dive Medicine
2) I hope it hasn't been covered again and again. I searched for "compression chamber locations" but it appears to return anything that has any of those words in it - useless.

So, to my question:
Why can't I find out where all the recompression chambers are located? I figured there'd be a Frappr and everything for something so important.

Instead, all I found in my brief google was a DAN page explaining that they think you should go to your local emergency room first. That makes me furious... just trying to cover their butts legally IMO.

It's rediculous that people would try to hide this information when it could save your life!

I was just curious if there was one in the Dallas area (you know, planning ahead just in case), how many there are in the country, if they're all along the coasts etc.

I'm not saying that DAN is wrong to advise going to an emergency room first.. but I'd still like to know where the things are so I can take part in the decision making process (I mean, if I don't know where they are, is some random ER doc going to know - or will I have to wait for 2 hours for them to call around and try to find one).

An example: Say I'm driving home from a Flower Gardens trip and I'm halfway between Houston and Dallas when I start to feel tingles... if I knew which of the 2 cities had one, I think I'd prefer to get to THAT city, ya know?

:06:

 

[markfm]

Call DAN if/when you have a problem, and they'll give you current info on the nearest chamber, I believe.
The idea is that this stuff does change, over time, so it's better to get the accurate info at the time of need, rather than go to a potentially out of date location.
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=179

You can also often google for information. I did a check for Syracuse hyperbaric chamber to find/verify that University Hospital here has an active chamber, managed out of the anesthesiology department. If someone took a hit locally, I would, however, still call DAN.

 

[stackclimber]

If you are in need of a chamber I would recommend calling DAN. They will direct you to the nearest EMPTY chamber. I think jumping the gun and going to the chamber of your choice and finding it occupied may cause major delays that would be unwanted if the situation were to occur.

Lets hope the adventure never leads to that.

 

[Kaiser442]

I'm not currently in need of one... just trying to inform myself.

I think it is entirely reasonable to know ahead of time if there is one in my town, if there is one in the places I plan to dive etc.

IMO it is absolutely asinine to hide this information. It's the equivalent of refusing to release the addresses of hospitals and telling people that they should just call 911 if they're ever in trouble.

 

[roakey]

I think it is entirely reasonable to know ahead of time if there is one in my town, if there is one in the places I plan to dive etc.

IMO it is absolutely asinine to hide this information. It's the equivalent of refusing to release the addresses of hospitals and telling people that they should just call 911 if they're ever in trouble.

It *is* unreasonable. Unlike hospitals, chambers are a dynamic, very, very limited resource. In such an environment you need a central clearing house (such as DAN) to tell you where to go so you don't arrive at a decomissioned chamber, a chamber in use, a chamber that's down due to maintenance, etc.

Roak

 

[SubMariner]

ScubaDoc's (Dr. Ern Campbell) website: http://scuba-doc.com/

He has a listing of chambers & hyberbaric physicians.

It's like looking for ANY area of specialized medicine, you have to do your homework. No one is "hiding" the information!

 

[Blackwood]

No one is stopping you from calling around, are they? Call the hospitals in your area and ask if they have hyperbarics.


I can now say from personal experience (this past weekend) that DAN's method works.

 

[Don Burke]

Just keeping track of which chambers are up, down, and in use in this area is a major job. When I was on a ship with one, there was quite a bit of coordination involved in the whole process.

See if you can set up a group tour of a facility in your area, but call DAN if you need one.

 

[Vtdiver2]

I'm not currently in need of one... just trying to inform myself.

I think it is entirely reasonable to know ahead of time if there is one in my town, if there is one in the places I plan to dive etc.

IMO it is absolutely asinine to hide this information. It's the equivalent of refusing to release the addresses of hospitals and telling people that they should just call 911 if they're ever in trouble.

Check with your LDS, they normally know where the local chambers are. I remember an instructor in my RESCUE class telling us where the 3 are in our area.
C-Dawg

 

[markfm]

In my Rescue class, the Instructor gave that as an assignment -- come up with an emergency action plan for different local dive spots. Call scripts (directions to give EMS), local hospitals, DAN and other contact numbers, nearest chamber,... A good exercise.
http://markfm.dynalias.org/cvwords.gif