Staffing shortage closes UH’s hyperbaric treatment center

The University of Hawaii’s Hyperbaric Treatment Center has closed indefinitely because of staffing problems, a University of Hawaii spokesman said Sunday.

UH spokesman Dan Mei­senzahl said there were some departures this summer from the center, which is overseen by UH’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. But there is currently open recruitment to fill positions at the center, and the Legislature approved a request last session for $1.5 million to upgrade the facilities.

He said he didn’t have information about what prompted the latest staffing shortage, which forced the center to close suddenly Thursday. He said more information may be available this week.

The duration of the closure was unknown, and the center’s website said Sunday it is closed for business.

The center usually is available 24/7 for people suffering from decompression sickness, or “the bends.”

“We regret that we were forced to shut the center suddenly,” said JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges in a statement. “We are working diligently to find alternatives. Everyone’s top priority is the health and safety of the people of Hawaii.”

A UH statement said the center was forced to close after officials learned that the last of four HTC physicians would no longer be available for full-time emergency services.

The university was working with the state Department of Health and health care providers to transfer patients receiving care for other conditions to other hyperbaric facilities.

UH urged anyone suffering from decompression sickness to continue with the practice that was in place before the center closed and to go to the nearest emergency facility, where treatment can be provided without a decompression chamber.

UH and other specialists will determine which other hyperbaric monochambers and providers may be available.

In the fiscal year that ended in June, the center provided 57 treatments to 45 divers, UH said. Since July 1 the center has provided 17 treatments to seven divers. The center also offers nonemergency services for difficult-to-heal injuries, such as diabetic-type wounds. Since July 1 more than 1,000 of such treatments were given to 68 patients.

The center opened at Kewalo Basin in 1983 and moved to its current location at Kuakini Medical Center in 1995.