Hyperbaric chambers in NW Florida unavailable to divers

Hyperbaric chambers from New Orleans to Tampa are filled with Covid-19 patients and facilities are unable to offer emergency hyperbaric services to other patients such as divers.

(File photo) Hyperbaric chamber at Rigshospitalet, the Danish national hospital
Medical & Fitness

In a region already woefully short of adequate hyperbaric emergency services for divers, chambers from Mississippi to Northwest Florida are reportedly now filling up with Covid-19 patients fighting for their lives.

As reported earlier on this site, the closest decompression chambers to the popular Oriskany dive site and Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail are in Mobile, Alabama which is out of state—or in Fort Myers, more than 600 miles away.

Press Release
Received from: National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Triples in Size

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Moving forward, this expansion means increased protections for important species and habitats. The expansion areas will be home to future conservation work and support resource protection, recreation and stewardship for local communities and the country. In particular, the sanctuary’s expansion provides an excellent opportunity to: 

Lack of deco chamber in Pensacola concern dive ops and tourism

The closest decompression chambers to the popular Oriskany dive site and Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail are in Mobile, Alabama which is out of state - or in Fort Myers, more than 600 miles away.

A peek inside a decompression chamber at a hospital (file photo)
Travel & Trips
Medical & Fitness

Although Visit Pensacola promotes the Oriskany dive site and Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail, it has not been made aware of the safety concerns rover the region's lack of hyperbaric chambers to treat decompression sickness Nicole Stacey, spokeswoman for Visit Pensacola, told Pensacola News Journal on Thursday.

She said Visit Pensacola was not involved in any effort to try to improve emergency treatment options for divers and would rely on the diving industry and those professionals in the area to remedy the situation.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Great American Journey

Returning from the pristine reefs of Tobago, I flew over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Aghast, I set out on a journey that would help me illuminate waters of the United States to help people better understand their national treasure. I became the first woman to dive all 50 states at the end of last year.

Words:
Jennifer Idol
Images:
Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎
Travel & Trips

When I set out on my journey, I was already an experienced local diver that appreciated the diversity of my Texas diving. As an underwater photographer, I thought people would learn to value and protect their waters if I created compelling imagery. Despite my experience, I didn’t know what I would see and experience on my journey. In the United States, I had only previously dived Texas and Florida.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in sharks

Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in seven species of sharks and redfish captured in waters off Belize, Florida, Louisiana and Massachusetts.

While the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in sharks and other fish does not necessarily harm them the findings point to a growing problem for human health.
Ecology & Science

A team of researchers led by Jason Blackburn of the University of Florida sampled and tested 134 fish living in coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Belize, and Massachusetts for signs of drug-resistant bacteria, using a suite of twelve common antibiotics. Resistance was found everywhere they looked, to varying degrees. Pronounced resistance to an array of drugs was found in sharks in Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, for example.

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