NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER’S HYPERBARIC TEAM RECOMMENDS CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS WITH FUNCTIONING BATTERIES

January 4, 2008
Contact:  Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

East Meadow, NY…..The Nassau University Medical Center’s Hyperbaric Chamber team was activated on December 21, 2007 at 4:00 AM, for a carbon monoxide poisoning involving four victims, all requiring hyperbaric treatments.  Parents and children were exposed to carbon monoxide from a boiler, located in the basement of their home in Floral Park.
The two adults and their children, ages one and five years, all received hyperbaric oxygen treatments with good results at NUMC. All four were admitted and released after successfully completing several hyperbaric treatments.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to enhance the flow of oxygen throughout the body and hasten the elimination of carbon monoxide from the blood stream.  Exposure to carbon monoxide can cause mild to severe symptoms, including headache, nausea, and loss of consciousness or death.

Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, emphasized the need for working detectors: “Since carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and can cause death, we encourage Nassau County residents to have their home equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, specifically with functioning batteries.”

For additional information on hyperbaric chamber treatments, please contact the NUMC Hyperbaric Medicine Division at 516-572-5201.