Work outside Intermountain Health Lutheran Medical Office Building in Wheat Ridge recently resembled an episode from Star Trek. The reality will bring down-to-earth medical care for people suffering from hard-to-heal wounds. 

Crews from Saunders Construction Inc. used a crane to hoist two hyperbaric oxygen chambers to the medical office building’s fifth floor. 

Each chamber measures 8 feet 8 inches by 3 feet 7 inches and weighs approximately 2,200 pounds. They were installed in the new Intermountain Health Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic. The clinic is set to open in November and will treat patients with hyperbaric therapy this winter.  

About 8 million people in the U.S. live with chronic wounds. Conditions requiring advanced wound care include diabetic foot ulcers, pressure sores, leg wounds caused from poor veins, and other non-healing wounds. 

Hyperbaric medicine can help patients with a range of problems including certain non-healing wounds, long term effects from cancer radiation treatment, and carbon monoxide poisoning. It can help speed up the wound healing process and help treat infection. 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works by placing the patient in a clear chamber that contains 100% oxygen (compared to normal room air that has 21% oxygen). This helps the body heal by growing new skin, blood vessels, and tissue. The duration of the treatment and number of visits will depend on the patient’s health condition. 

Providing outpatient wound care and hyperbaric therapy is a new service for Intermountain Health patients in Wheat Ridge, Golden, Arvada, Lakewood, and surrounding communities. Intermountain Lutheran Hospital provides wound care for hospitalized patients. Outpatient wound and hyperbaric medicine also is available at Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital in Brighton.  

“Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital is incredibly excited to be able to provide a high quality of wound care and hyperbaric services coming in fall 2025,” said Matthew Ethington, Intermountain Health director of wound and hyperbaric services. “Bringing these services to our community has the potential of making a huge impact for many years to come to those in need.”  

Ethington said the arrival of the hyperbaric chambers is one milestone among many that Lutheran Hospital has marked to achieve a goal of healing complex wounds for community members.