Charlotte Fire Dept. halts wellness center’s hyperbaric oxygen chamber use at 3 sites
The Charlotte Fire Department has ordered three Charlotte wellness centers to stop using its hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
Restore Hyper Wellness has been ordered to stop using hyperbaric chambers at its three Charlotte locations until it can provide documentation proving the equipment is up to National Fire Protection Association requirements, according to a May 24 fire inspection report obtained by The Charlotte Observer.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can by used for treating scuba and deep-sea divers affected by the difference in pressure, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The treatment involves breathing 100% oxygen (the air we breathe is 21% oxygen) in a hyperbaric chamber, according to the agency.
And the FDA has cleared the use of hyperbaric chambers for other conditions, including anemia, carbon monoxide poisoning, hearing loss, non-healing wounds or vision loss.
But some wellness facilities claim hyperbaric oxygen therapy can treat other conditions like cancer, Lyme disease or Alzheimer’s disease. That’s not proven, according to the FDA.
Restore Hyper Wellness says its mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber can “help optimize sleep, speed up athletic recovery, repair muscles and boost cognitive clarity.”
Restore Hyper Wellness
The order to stop using the hyperbaric chamber was issued after a Charlotte Fire inspection of the Restore Hyper Wellness location at 1711 Montford Drive on May 24, according to the fire inspection report. A follow-up inspection is set for June 23.
The order also applies to the Restore Hyper Wellness locations at 6660 Carmel Road and 9825 Sandy Rock Place, Suite E, according to Charlotte Fire.
The inspection was initiated after a complaint, according to the report, which did not specify who the complaint was from.
The wellness facility must stop using hyperbaric chambers at the Charlotte locations until it is able to provide documentation that the facility meets all requirements of the National Fire Protection Association related to hyperbaric chambers, or provide documentation — including a formal interpretation from the NFPA — that the hyperbaric chamber at Restore is not regulated by those requirements.
The report does not specify which requirements the Restore hyperbaric chamber may have been violating.
Restore Hyper Wellness confirmed to the Observer that the SouthPark center is not offering mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy until cleared by authorities to resume appointments.
But the rest of the facility’s services are open to customers. “We look forward to the conclusion of this process and returning to our mission of helping our clients heal, feel their best, and do more of what they love,” the company said in a statement.
On the Southpark location’s website, appointments for mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy aren’t available until June 17 at the earliest. The website doesn’t show the cost of the treatment.
At another Charlotte location for Restore Hyper Wellness on Carmel Road, online booking is available for mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy appointments as early as June 12. No June appointments for the hyperbaric treatments are available online at its Rea Farms location.
FDA recommendations
The FDA recommends checking with your health care provider before seeking hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Even then, the agency encourages people to go to a hospital or facility that has been inspected and is accredited by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society.
Just three hyperbaric facilities in the Carolinas are accredited by the society. None are in Charlotte.
The accredited facilities in the Carolinas are: Wound Healing Center at the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System in Spartanburg, S.C., the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, and the Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Roper Hospital in Charleston.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy risks
Hyperbaric oxygen treatments for FDA-cleared conditions is generally safe, according to the agency.
But some potential risks include ear and sinus pain, middle ear injuries, temporary vision changes, and rarely, lung collapse.
And hyperbaric chambers can pose a fire risk, due to high concentrations of oxygen, according to the FDA. That’s why the FDA recommends seeking treatment at an accredited facility.
In one case in 2009, a fire started by static electricity buildup in a hyperbaric chamber in Florida killed a 4-year-old boy and his grandmother, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 6:05 AM.
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