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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > April 18, 2008
St. Luke's installs huge hyperbaric chamber
Published April 18, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
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Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee is installing the second-largest hyperbaric chamber in the nation.
The new chamber will triple the hospital's capacity to treat patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and improve its regional wound care services.
The 52-foot-long, 66-ton chamber will be able to treat up to 24 patients at one time.
The chamber was put into place today after being lifted by a huge crane and placed into the basement of St. Luke's through a 1,100-square-foot hole.
Hyperbaric chambers are primarily used to help treat difficult wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, but also are used for carbon monoxide poisoning and several other medical conditions. During hyperbaric treatment, patients breathe 100 percent oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The increased oxygen in the blood stimulates small blood vessel and skin growth and helps fight infection.
"This new chamber will allow us to continue to provide our patients with the most advanced, state-of-the-art technologies available in wound care," said Jeffrey Niezgoda, M.D., medical director of Aurora's Centers for Comprehensive Wound Care and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Program. "This new chamber will allow us to continue to attract patients from throughout the Midwest."
Jack Simanonok, M.D., another hyperbaric physician in the Aurora program, cited a growing need for hyperbaric therapy.
"The role of hyperbaric medicine is becoming increasingly important as the incidence of diabetes increases, the population ages and the number of chronic wounds exceeds 6 million yearly," Simanonok said. "There are currently 24 million diabetics in the U.S., approximately 8 percent of the population, and these patients are at significant risk for complications related to diabetic foot disease. Obesity and tobacco use also impact the body's ability to heal and may contribute to the development of chronic wounds."
The chamber was built in Queensland, Australia. It left Brisbane on a ship on Feb. 22 and arrived in Long Beach, Calif., on April 4. The chamber was then was loaded onto a trailer and trucked across the country to Milwaukee.
The new chamber is expected to be fully operational in August. Until then, Aurora. St. Luke's patients will continue to use its twin chambers that were installed in 1965 and nicknamed "Bonnie and Clyde."
