Skip to main content
Find a DoctorGet Care Now
Skip to main content
Search

Contrast

Contact

Share

Donate

MyChart

Help

Hyperbaric medicine provides hope to COVID-19 patients

Monday, November 23, 2020

Greenwich Hospital is treating COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy administered by Ellen Stacom, RN, (left) and Sandra Wainwright, MD, medical director, Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Healing


Greenwich, CT (Nov. 23, 2020) – Emerging evidence shows hyperbaric oxygen therapy – best known for treating scuba divers for decompression sickness – can effectively deliver much-needed oxygen to COVID-19 patients.

Greenwich Hospital is one of six medical facilities nationwide – and the only one in Connecticut – slated to take part in a yearlong trial to treat 600 COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The hospital has already treated three COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy with some promising results. One patient who had severe symptoms, including difficulty breathing, said his airways began to clear after 10 minutes in the chamber.

“This treatment may help some critically ill COVID-19 patients avoid intubation and mechanical ventilators, which so often impact recovery and survival,” said Sandra Wainwright, MD, medical director of Greenwich Hospital’s Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Healing.

At Greenwich Hospital, hyperbaric medicine is often used to treat difficult-to-heal wounds that have not responded to traditional treatments. Now COVID-19 patients are finding relief in hyperbaric chambers that increase oxygen levels to extremely high levels when patients need it the most.

Delivered while patients lie in an enclosed chamber, the treatment fully saturates red blood cells and plasma with oxygen to combat the harmful effects of the coronavirus on the lungs. Patients receive the 90-minute treatment for five consecutive days.

“Patients with severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 can’t get enough oxygen on their own to sustain their organs,” explained Dr. Wainwright. “They’re constantly panting for air, breathing at about 45 to 50 breaths per minute. That’s a breath almost every second.” Fourteen to 18 breaths per minute is considered normal.

But once in the chamber, patients begin to relax and their breathing slows down. “You see the fear start to leave their eyes. Their muscles relax. Some patients take a nap,” she said. “For a precious 90 minutes, they actually feel normal again.”

Greenwich Hospital is a member of Yale New Haven Health. Greenwich is a 206-bed (includes 32 isolettes) community hospital serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. It is a academic affiliate of Yale School of Medicine. Since opening in 1903, Greenwich Hospital has evolved into a progressive medical center and teaching institution representing all medical specialties and offering a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic and wellness programs. Greenwich Hospital is recognized throughout the healthcare industry as a leader in service and patient satisfaction excellence. Greenwich Hospital has the prestigious Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. www.greenwichhospital.org

Similar Articles

11/27/2023

The Carol Emmott Foundation names Yale New Haven Health’s Marjorie Lazarre to the 2024 Fellowship Class

New Haven, CT (Nov. 27, 2023) – Marjorie Lazarre, PharmD, MBA; associate chief pharmacy officer & ED pharmaceutical business innovations, Yale New Haven Health, has been selected as a national health leader in the Fellowship Class of 2024 by The Carol Emmott Foundation.

11/27/2023

Yale New Haven Health launches “We Ask Because We Care” campaign to reduce and eliminate healthcare disparities

New Haven, CT (Nov. 27, 2023) – Yale New Haven Health System’s (YNHHS) Office of Health Equity & Community Impact (OHECI) has launched the “We Ask Because We Care” campaign.

11/15/2023

PhysicianOne Urgent Care opens in Shelton, marking 27th location

SHELTON (Nov. 15, 2023) PhysicianOne Urgent Care announced today the opening of a new center at 795 Bridgeport Avenue, Suite A, Shelton, offering high-quality, friendly, and professional care to residents in Shelton and surrounding towns in Fairfield County. The Shelton center is PhysicianOne’s 27th location and the first new center opening following Yale New Haven Health System’s acquisition of PhysicianOne Urgent Care.