Manitoba's first hyperbaric oxygen therapy hub to open

Winnipeg Free Press

a day ago

Inside the chamber: a bed and pillow, a wrist strap, enough space for a 6 ft. 6 in. cotton gown-clad individual.
Outside the chamber: Martin Hiebert, pointing to gauges and a phone attached to the vessel.
'You are in constant conversation with the patient,' Hiebert said.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Martin Hiebert aims to open the St. James clinic at 1863 Portage Ave. on Sept. 1.
Patients haven't yet laid in one of Prairie Hyperbarics' three chambers. Hiebert aims to open the St. James clinic on Sept. 1, marking Manitoba's first hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) hub.
He gave the Free Press a tour of 1863 Portage Ave. ahead of time.
Up to 21 clients will be treated daily. Health Canada recognizes HBOT as effective in treating 14 conditions. The range of ailments is vast — embolisms, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, decompression sickness, skin grafts.
Clients will, most often, arrive with a prescription, Hiebert said.
They'll enter a hyperbaric chamber room with three tubular chambers ready to pump a high concentration of oxygen into the body. Hiebert anticipates great demand: another three chambers could arrive within a year.
'The key here is to make (people) feel comfortable,' Hiebert said.
Hence the TVs. Clients lying in each chamber for 80 minutes can watch movies.
Meanwhile, they'll be consuming near-pure oxygen in four 15-minute stretches. Air composed of 94 per cent oxygen will circulate the enclosed tube.
'Compare it to 33 feet down in the water,' Hiebert described. 'That's the amount of pressure you get.'
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Martin Hiebert shows Prairie Hyberbarics' oxygen storage room.
Those periods are broken by five-minute stretches of consuming typical breathing air, which has 21 per cent oxygen, via a supplied mask.
It's a therapy that's grown since the 1950s. The goal is to 'fill the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissues and restore normal body function,' a summary by Johns Hopkins Medicine reads.
Hiebert got exposed roughly eight years ago when he had prostate cancer and accompanying organ damage from its treatment.
His oncologist recommended HBOT. However, there were no options in Manitoba, so Hiebert travelled to a Calgary clinic. It cost Manitoba Health around $35,000, Hiebert said.
HBOT clinics have sprouted in Toronto and Vancouver. Several Canadian hospitals have hyperbaric units.
Hiebert and business partner Dr. Karen Moran de Muller will run Prairie Hyperbarics, a private clinic. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba has approved Moran de Muller as the site's medical director.
Still pending is the CPSM accreditation needed before the clinic can operate.
The association's Manitoba Quality Assurance Program has been in communication with the clinic, spokeswoman Wendy Elias-Gagnon wrote in an email. The accreditation process hasn't been started, but CPSM will work with Prairie Hyperbarics 'once the clinic is ready.'
'We're very close,' Hiebert said.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Health Canada recognizes HBOT as effective in treating 14 conditions. Hiebert says a session at Prairie Hyperbarics will cost roughly $600.
Later, he showed a thick binder Prairie Hyperbarics must adhere by to meet medical standards.
Hiebert is envisioning athletes among the clients walking through the doors. A session will cost roughly $600, he said.
He underwent 35 sessions in Calgary. An average case might involve daily sessions for 30 days, he said.
He's in the midst of hiring two technicians to monitor treatments.
The chambers can shut down in 120 seconds if need be. Another room holds a large fire extinguisher; it can fill the chamber room in 10 seconds, Hiebert said.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba isn't aware of another accredited hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber in the province, Elias-Gagnon confirmed. Shared Health doesn't oversee such chambers.
'We're really excited to have something at that level of innovation happening right in St. James,' said Melanie Maher, executive director of the St. James Village BIZ.
'It's really unique to bring it to the neighbourhood.'
The new clinic comes with a $4.6 million start-up price tag, Hiebert said. Each Perry Baromedical hyperbaric chamber cost roughly $225,000. The clinic hasn't received government funding.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Martin Hiebert, founder of Prairie Hyperbarics, underwent 35 HBOT sessions in Calgary eight years ago at the recommendation of his oncologist.
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Hiebert believes Prairie Hyperbarics can save Manitoba Health money.
Hyperbaric therapy would only be considered insured for critical care in a tertiary facility attached to care by a specialist, a provincial spokesperson wrote in a statement.
'While the province is open to further review, non-acute treatment is not currently covered in a private clinical setting,' the spokesperson continued.
Hiebert is a marketing executive, and Moran de Muller is a family doctor practising out of Crestview Medical Clinic. Other family doctors may eventually join Prairie Hyperbarics — a wing of the 4,400 sq. ft. facility holds five offices for practitioners.
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Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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