Westchester Medical Center’s Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Program Receives Accreditation with Distinction

The Hyperbaric Medicine program at Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), recently received Accreditation with Distinction from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) for its comprehensive hyperbaric oxygen therapy program that offers 24/7 services to the sickest patients in our region. 

Only 206 hyperbaric centers nationwide seek designation from the UHMS out of the thousands that offer the service and among that group, a mere 12% of the centers receive the notable Accreditation with Distinction designation. This is due to the society's 1,600-criteria survey that assesses factors including a center's 24/7 availability, the number of physicians trained to provide the service (24 at Westchester Medical Center) and the academic nature of the program in a tertiary care facility.   

"Westchester Medical Center's hyperbarics program has the highest acuity patients in our region, some with complicated wounds that have failed treatment at other facilities and have persistent symptoms, and others with effects of prior radiation, carbon monoxide poisoning, sudden vision loss and traumatic injuries," said Kausik Kar, MD, Medical Director of the Hyperbaric Unit at Westchester Medical Center.  "We are proud to have received this distinction for our comprehensive program and exceptional team of clinicians who provide vital and lifesaving care for our patients." 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment used to help the body heal after extreme injury or difficult to treat wounds by delivering high doses of oxygen greater than barometric or sea-level air pressure. The treatment provides oxygen to tissues in a patient's body in a quantity that cannot occur through any other form of oxygen treatment. The increased oxygen promotes the body's own healing mechanism and helps the patient fight infections.  

In existence for more than 30 years, the hyperbaric medicine program's multi-disciplinary approach to successful chronic wound treatment includes patient nutrition, medication, transportation and social services, as well as specialized vascular, general and reconstructive surgery, physical therapy, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

For more information about Westchester Medical Center's Hyperbaric Medicine program, call 914.493.1500.