PENSACOLA, Florida (21 August 2007) -- The death of an Oriskany diver has raised concerns about safety measures and emergency response times for those diving the sunken carrier. Lee Shortt, 39, of Pawley Island, S.C., died Saturday, just hours after diving the Oriskany. An autopsy is planned for today, said Dr. Andi Minyard, the medical examiner. Coast Guard officials reported Shortt surfaced from the dive with symptoms of the bends, also known as decompression sickness. A Coast Guard boat was launched to meet the local charter boat Shortt was on, but a helicopter was not sent. The closest Coast Guard rescue helicopter is in New Orleans, a 90-minute flight. "That's where our helicopters come out of for our area of responsibility," said Lt. David Vicks, Mobile Command Center supervisor. "There are some (choppers) in Mobile, but they are used for training." For an emergency in the Pensacola area, it is often faster to have a Coast Guard boat meet the victim in the water -- as one did Saturday -- Vicks said. Occasionally a Mobile helicopter in training will be diverted to an emergency in the Pensacola area, but it is uncommon, he said. "It depends on the situation," Vicks said. "And the condition of the patient. Each one is different." Dr. James Leker, medical director of LifeFlight and an emergency-room physician, said in a decompression sickness situation time is important. "If an air-gas embolism forms, you can have a matter of minutes," Leker said. "If oxygen can't get to the brain you have about four minutes (to get medical treatment). If you are 25 miles out, you don't have that luxury." | | When Florida business promoters sank the USS Oriskany to boost tourism profits, they failed to establish adequate and effective emergency response procedures. Anticipating an increased risk for dive injuries as more scuba divers are attracted to the artificial reef, Baptist Hospital officials in 2006 required additional training for its staff and physicians. The hospital also began 24-hour staffing of its hyperbaric facilities, including a monoplace hyperbaric chamber, Leker said. The one-person chamber can increase pressure to the equivalent of 60 feet, enough to treat the bends with "recompression," Leker said. While some divers are concerned the Baptist chamber is too small, Leker said the hospital has the ability to treat anyone who dives. SOURCE - Pensacola News JournalSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
