Tampa’s Undersea Oxygen Clinic
Did you know that there is an active hyperbaric treatment center right here in the heart of Tampa?
Undersea Oxygen Clinic is a Divers Alert Network (DAN) 24-hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year-operated diver treatment facility located in the Westshore District in Tampa.
Address: 701 N. West Shore Blvd. 3rd Floor, Tampa, FL 33609.
Phone Number: 813-533-70936
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The facility holds two double-lock chambers that can handle two patients at a time.
All staff is Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) undersea hyperbaric medical study approved has over 100 combined years in hyperbarics to help patients heal more rapidly. They are also certified and active members of the International Board of Undersea Medicine.
As a dive school, we are invested in the safety of divers. Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) therapy enables a patient to breathe 100% oxygen while inside a treatment chamber at a pressure greater than sea level. This increased pressure effectively delivers up to 300% oxygen. HBO cures Decompression Illness (DCIs). A hyperbaric chamber is a system, to artificially reproduce the hyperbaric conditions below sea level, delivering internal pressures above normal atmospheric pressure for diving-related uses including diver decompression, saturation diving, and non-diving medical applications including hyperbaric medicine.
Before heading to a chamber, you will want to contact Divers Alert Network (DAN) emergency services. Staff are on-call medical professionals who are unable to renew or sell membership or insurance products and are available to help answer questions relating to diver safety and medicine.
According to DAN, If you suspect a diver has a dive-related injury and needs evaluation, you should safely:
- Monitor airway, breathing, circulation
- Provide 100% oxygen if you are a trained oxygen provider.
- Call the local EMS for transport or assist in the transport of the injured diver to medical care.
- Call the DAN Emergency Hotline at +1-919-684-9111 (emergencies can call collect) for consult and advice.
Please refer to “Why DAN Does not Provide Chamber Location Information” article for more information on DAN hospital referrals.
You can schedule a tour by contacting Adventure Outfitters or by calling the clinic at 813-533-7093
Team members include:
Mario Caruso – CHT-A, DMT, EMT-P
He began his career in hyperbaric/diving medicine at NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) in Miami, FL in the early 1980’s where he was trained as a Hyperbaric Technologist, Diver Medic, and Multiplace chamber Operator. His Experience spans both multiplace and monoplace chamber operations as well as rescue diving operations. He’s a graduate of the Broward Country Fire Academy and completed Training as an EMT/Paramedic. I worked as a firefighter / paramedic and was attached to the dive rescue team. I’m a UHMS Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Surveyor who is well versed in NFPA Codes and was appointed to the NFPA Committee on Hyperbaric Medicine and Facilities in 2007. I have authored many specialty courses and abstracts as well as presented at the UHMS Scientific meeting and chapter meetings. I have trained numerous centers in hyperbaric medicine throughout the world. I am happy to be serving the community of Tampa.
Joseph Dituri – PhD (c), CDR, US Navy (ret)
Joseph is a retired Navy Diving Saturation Officer with 28 years of service to this great country. He retired in 2013 and went back to school to earn a PhD in Biomedical Engineering so he could perform research on diving-related maladies. He sits on the ABS committee for building Undersea Vehicles and Hyperbaric Systems and is an author of numerous text books, peer-reviewed research articles. He is also a highly-requested speaker and is happy to be lecture regularly throughout the world. He is an instructor of hyperbaric physicians through the International Board of Undersea Medicine.
Learn more about the Undersea Oxygen Clinic at www.underseaoxygenclinic.com or on their Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/underseaoxygenclinic