A Call To All Providers of Hyperbaric Medicine

This article provides an update on the tragic death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper in a hyperbaric chamber fire on January 31, 2025, in Troy, Michigan; and an important call to action to all providers of hyperbaric medicine from the Executive Director of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.

‍Source Reference: LinkedIn post from Mr. John Peters, Executive Director of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. Republished here with permission.

‍"This is an update on the tragic death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper in a hyperbaric chamber fire on January 31, 2025, in Troy, Michigan.

Attorney General Dana Nessel describes the charges and those indicted in Thomas’ death.

A KEY point from her interview was that essential (safety) practices were ignored. This included a failure to perform daily equipment maintenance and pre-dive patient checklists. No supervising hyperbaric physician or hyperbaric safety leader was present at the time of the accident. There was a lack of adequately credentialed hyperbaric technicians, and the hyperbaric chambers did not receive annual preventative maintenance as required. Finally, and the most egregious, was a failure to ground patients in their monoplace chambers pressurized with 100% USP medical O2.

Nessel said this was an "unscrupulous business operating powerful machines beyond their manufacturer's intended term of use on children's bodies over and over again to provide unaccredited and debunked so-called treatments chiefly because it brought cash in the door..."

We call on all providers of hyperbaric medicine to pause their operations and review safety standards and codes to ensure compliance."
https://www.uhms.org/images/Accreditation-Documents/Fourth_Edition_UHMS_Accreditation_Manual_Final_6-4-2018.pdf‍

Relevant Resources for Providers of Hyperbaric Medicine

‍Clinical Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Manual, Fourth Edition - UHMS Accreditation means that your facility has met the highest standards of care and patient safety through our rigorous evaluation of the adequacy of your facility, equipment, staff and training to ensure that the utmost quality is maintained within our specialty. Get the PDF Manual Here

Hyperbaric Certified - Safety (HC-S) is a certificate of added qualification. Become an expert in hyperbaric safety with the Hyperbaric Certified - Safety (HC-S©) designation. This certification demonstrates that you have achieved the highest professional standards in hyperbaric safety and helps you maintain your advanced training certification. This pathway includes the safety director training course, a thorough deep-dive into the Hyperbric Facilty Safety textbook, a hands on skills lab, and a certification exam. Learn More about HC-S Here

Are you starting a new hyperbaric clinic and feeling lost as to code, regulations, credentialling, staffing, and business operations? There's a lot to know when getting started. Luckily, there is a playbook. The certificate program, Hyperbaric Certified - Program Director (HC-PD) is the playbook you've been looking for. Covering all business topics from billing, coding, revenue cycle; and teaching you the highest international standards of patient care and facility operations as established by the UHMS. Learn More about HC-PD Here  

The Importance & Recognition of Hyperbaric Certification for Technicians & Nurses (from the UHMS): Read the Position Statement Here

More information regarding hyperbaric medicine oversight for providers is detailed in the UHMS Guidelines for Credentialing, Privileging and Supervision of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the U.S.A. Read More Here