*Time sensitive PSA* Northeast Gulf Coast hyperbaric facilities are on divert

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hello all, I just heard from a friend in hyperbaric medicine in the area. At present, the only open hyperbaric facilities that can serve the Northeast GOM are in New Orleans and Bradenton, FL. All of the rest are on divert due to COVID-19. This is time-sensitive and will likely change over the coming days, but I did want local divers to be aware.
NOTE: this is not the forum for promulgating COVID misinformation or having debates, especially political ones. Anything resembling that will be removed.

 

[runsongas]

is it due to usage of the hyperbaric facilities to treat severe covid cases? is there any published data or studies on the effectiveness vs o2 intubation/ventilation? just sounds like a hail mary measure if the patient is in such bad shape already

 

[Wookie]

is it due to usage of the hyperbaric facilities to treat severe covid cases? is there any published data or studies on the effectiveness vs o2 intubation/ventilation? just sounds like a hail mary measure if the patient is in such bad shape already

My guess would be that staff is working in a COVID ward. But that’s just a guess. In Jacksonville, my friend who is normally a recovery nurse (and took last COVID surge off to get a fixed wing pilots license) is in the COVID ward on 12 and 16 hour shifts because the COVID ward is currently all hands on deck.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

is it due to usage of the hyperbaric facilities to treat severe covid cases? is there any published data or studies on the effectiveness vs o2 intubation/ventilation? just sounds like a hail mary measure if the patient is in such bad shape already

That is under investigation and initial reports are promising, but the data are not there yet. The UHMS is encouraging facilities to do research in the area. So far, treatment appears most effective if administered early, i.e. prior to the need for intubation. Too late and the lung damage is already done; at that point the oxygen will only make things worse.

All that said, the hyperbaric facilities in the GOM are not on divert because they're treating COVID patients. They're on divert because their hospitals are so full of COVID patients that they don't have any room for anyone else, especially emergency cases. There are no more ICU beds.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[tridacna]

GOM? I can only guess Gulf of Mexico. I need some help here!

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

GOM? I can only guess Gulf of Mexico. I need some help here!

Yes, sorry!

 

[DavidFL]

Does 'Northeast GOM' include SE FL and the Keys? I didn't want to pin directly, but planning a trip next week to Jupiter/West Palm; I know that Palm Beach County has a state of emergency due to COVID and hospitalization/ICU availability, but worth checking in just to see if I correctly interpret all of Florida to be in the Northeast part of the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[NothingClever]

Started tracking this earlier this week.

I talked to the Dive Officer (DO) at NAS Pensacola’s NAMI to find out if they have reciprocal agreements to handle civilian divers when the civilian chambers are offline.

As the good folks from Duke shared above, the DO confirmed the pinch in the Panhandle is there is no follow on location for observation of chamber riders after they decompress because the ICU beds are full of Rona patients.

I’ve been planning a normoxic dive next week with a long BT on the Oriskany for eight divers (some flying in from Texas and Washington, DC) but it looks like we might have to thumb the dive before we get wet.

 

[MaxE]

@Duke Dive Medicine, Which hospital in New Orleans has an operational chamber? Is West Jefferson back online, or does University Medical Center have one? It would be pretty good info for me to have that I hope I would never need

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Does 'Northeast GOM' include SE FL and the Keys? I didn't want to pin directly, but planning a trip next week to Jupiter/West Palm; I know that Palm Beach County has a state of emergency due to COVID and hospitalization/ICU availability, but worth checking in just to see if I correctly interpret all of Florida to be in the Northeast part of the Gulf of Mexico.

To my knowledge, the facilities that cover southern Florida are still on line at present.

Best regards,
DDM