Medical School Hotline: Hidden Jewel: The Hyperbaric Treatment Center of the University of Hawai‘i

摘要

Walking past the nondescript building at the southeast corner of the Kuakini Medical Center (KMC) campus, people may not realize that it houses an essential resource for the state of Hawai‘i. The Hyperbaric Treatment and Wound Care Center (HTC), Hawaii’s “dive chamber,” has been providing life- and limb-saving hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for over 37 years, now celebrating its 25th anniversary at its present location at KMC’s Hale Pulama Mau building. The unassuming facade belies its importance as the only emergency hyperbaric chamber in the state, serving the most critical patients in need of HBOT, and an essential safety net for military and commercial scuba dive operations. The chamber is owned by the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), and staffed and supported by University Health Partners, the faculty practice of JABSOM. The HTC has an illustrious history of research under Edward Beckman MD, Frank Farm, Jr., Robert Overlock MD, and Richard Smerz DO, PhD, including development of the novel “Hawaiian Deep Tables.”1 In addition to dive emergencies, the HTC treats a variety of medical conditions including radiation injury and problem wounds. The HTC serves also as a training site for medical students, residents, and fellows both local and international.