Page 3 - MethodistHospital

PRESSURIZED HEALING: The Perry Sigma 40 hyperbaric oxygen chamber will help patients at Methodist Hospital who suffer from various medical conditions.

ABOUT 1 in 3 adults in this country has high blood pressure (hyper-tension), and nearly one-third of these don’t even know they have it. Because there are no symptoms, high blood pressure is often called the “silent killer.” Although blood pressure testing is one of the easiest and most important routine health checks available, many people don’t get regular screenings.

Hoping to make blood pressure testing more accessible to the com-munity, Methodist Hospital is sponsoring a Heart Check Center ™

blood-pressure testing kiosk display at Santa Anita Mall, which provides free testing to thousands every week. The Methodist-blue kiosk is located next to Johnny Rockets near the food court. Testing is free, requires no appointment and is not invasive. Blood pressure check cards are available for users to keep as a record of the test. To use the device, simply place your arm in the testing cuff, and the Heart Check Center provides a clear and accurate blood pressure reading in just two minutes.

Not only is the Heart Check Center easy to use—it can save lives. Studies show that high blood pressure kills about 50,000 people in the U.S. each year and contributes to the death of more than 200,000 annually. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. The only way to determine if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked.

METHODIST Hospital will soon have a cutting-edge hyperbaric center that can provide lifesaving treatment to San Gabriel Valley patients with a variety of serious medical conditions. This was made possible by a gift from the H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation.

The foundation’s generous grant was used to purchase a state-of-the-art Perry Sigma 40 hyperbaric (high-pres-sure) oxygen chamber, which will be located in the hospital’s newly remod-eled Wound Healing Center.

The H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation Hyperbaric Oxygen Center will not only beneft diabetic patients suffering with chronic wounds but also patients with wounds result-ing from immune defciencies and those suffering from decompression sickness (the bends) as a result of diving accidents. The new hyperbaric chamber will also help in treating other serious conditions.

The center expects to treat the frst patients sometime in late fall—after

the new tower opening. Janet Dugan, director of therapy services, says that continuing improvements to hyper-baric chamber technology will enable patients to sit upright or recline in comfort as they watch movies and listen to music while undergoing hyperbaric therapy. Those with conditions such as ulcers, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, air or gas embolisms, bone infections that do not respond to antibiotics, and even ﬂesh-eating bacteria syndrome also will beneft from this advanced technology.

The chamber is a large acrylic tube into which the patient slides on a long gurney. “We pump in 100 percent oxygen under pressure, and the aver-age patient remains inside for about 90 minutes,” Dugan says.

With relatively few hyperbaric centers operating in the San Gabriel Valley, she said the new chamber will go a long way toward equipping Methodist Hospital to provide patients with “The Next Generation of Care.”

Hyperbaric hope

for San Gabriel Valley patients

Free blood pressure

checks at Santa Anita Mall