The IHMA was formed as a not for profit organization out of the necessity to follow up on the positive results in an overwhelming amount of data on hyperbarics and neurology. This information was being reported around the world and could no longer be ignored. The idea of forming a new organization that would properly represent the science in hyperbarics and neurology had been tossed around among industry leaders that wanted to see the field of hyperbarics as a whole grow to its full potential.

The IHMA home office is located at:

4500 Belvedere Road, Suite H

West Palm Beach, FL 33415

If you are interested in joining the IHMA as a Corporate, Professional, General, or Founding Member, just complete the application form and contact our offices at: (561) 640-4546, Fax: (561) 640-4457, E-mail: IHMAceo@aol.com, or visit our website at www.IHMAonline.org to find out more about who we are and what we are doing for hyperbarics. We are planning our annual business meeting for October 1st, 2002 at the International College of Hyperbaric Medicine in San Francisco, CA.

Our initial Corporate Officers are as follows:

Ken Locklear, Executive Director

Dr. Paul Harch, President

Dr. Jo Feingold, Secretary

Dr. Milliam Maxfield, Chairman of the Committee on Freestanding Centers

IHMA Mission statement:

The International Hyperbaric Medical Association (IHMA) is a professional association dedicated to serving patients and consumers. The IHMA seeks to develop and promote the safe administration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) based on the supporting medical research, science, and human ethics while respecting the dignity and individuality of every patient.

The mission of the IHMA is to educate the general public and the international healthcare community by establishing hyperbaric medicine as a fundamental medical therapy. HBOT has the potential to dramatically impact international healthcare and alter the course of medicine, especially when combined with other known and yet to be discovered therapies. The IHMA will work with patients, consumers, international, federal, state, and local healthcare providers to advance new scientifically sound indications for HBOT, reduce healthcare costs, improve quality of life, and make HBOT affordable for all.

It is the mission of the IHMA to be a nonpartisan, international association dedicated to establishing and maintaining safe, ethical, and sound technical and operational guidelines in the science and technology of hyperbaric medicine. The IHMA will support the associated economic, social, and political issues that influence the administration, growth, and development of hyperbaric medicine as established by our membership.

It is the mission of the IHMA to ensure that licensed physicians are free to practice their specialty and prescribe and administer hyperbaric oxygen therapy, according to the inviolable covenant in the Hippocratic Oath. The IHMA will create a registry to collect hyperbaric treatment data from the international healthcare community. Treatment outcomes will help to refine protocols and impact indications. The IHMA will collect and disseminate information freely, unfettered by outside political or economic forces. The IHMA fully supports the generation and dissemination of such information toward the goal of better healthcare and quality of life for all people.

The following timeline represents the actions and milestones that the IHMA has been a part of in its infancy:

March 26, 2001

Ken Locklear was acting as the Executive Director of the newly formed IHMA and one of only 3 members of the UHMS present at the initial hearing for Texas HB1676. All three members testified as to the ways that they had personally and/or professionally seen HBOT effect neurological conditions with positive changes. Over 75% of the testimony provided to the insurance commission was on hyperbaric oxygen therapy and its positive outcomes. Kevan Corson, from UTMB Galveston, TX testified to the fact that HBOT should be treated on the symptoms that are present and not the etiology of an injury. There should be no difference between the treatment of a surgical air embolism and a diving air embolism.

May 2001

Dr. Neubauer asked Mr. Locklear to lead his Society of Freestanding Hyperbaric Oxygen Centers, Inc. as its new CEO. Mr. Locklear was very interested in helping to advance the field and to work with Dr. Neubauer but he wanted to represent both hospital-based centers as well as free standing facilities. Following several conversations between Dr. Neubauer and Mr. Locklear, Ken decided to incorporate a new association that would merge both Dr. Neubauer’s visions of expanding the field of free standing centers as a valid medical alternative, and uniting hospital based units, chamber manufacturers, doctors, nurses, technicians, researchers, and legislators alike. This of course would be no small endeavor and would take support from many different individuals and corporate sponsors. The first thing Ken did was to poll the field via e-mail and phone conversations with colleagues. It didn’t take long to realize that the field was desperate for new leadership, leadership that could advance the field beyond its stagnant list of 13 indications. With the positive confirmation that the field wanted change, the hard work of creating such an entity began.

June 2001

Even before formal incorporation was completed, Ken started contacting people that would be willing to help lay the groundwork for such a large undertaking. Once word hit the street that a new association was being put together, recommendation started pouring in for leadership positions. At the top of the list were Dr.’s Harch, Neubauer, and Maxfield. While these names might be familiar from the American College, they were about to become leadership names in a new association, one that spanned the entire gamut of hyperbarics, not just physicians, not just diving medicine, and not just wound care. Finally, something was being put together that would encompass the field as a whole, based on the science of hyperbarics and not just politics or reimbursement. The association would be formed with a strong dedication to, but not specifically limited to, hyperbarics in neurology. Neurology would be the first focus, simply because of the overwhelming amount of data showing positive results in the field. After an initial phone conference between Ken Locklear and Dr.’s Harch & Maxfield, the name was decided upon, and the International Hyperbaric Medical Association (IHMA) application for incorporation began.

One of the founding ideas of this association was that it would incorporate all of the suggestions listed in the 1999 UHMS Ethics Report. This report would give us a strong foundation on which to build a scientific and ethical association. From here, the real work began.

June 17, 2001

After returning from the UHMS annual scientific meeting in San Antonio, Ken Locklear met Texas State Representative Harryette Ehrhardt to discuss the newly introduced Texas HB 1676. During their meeting, Representative Ehrhardt called the Texas Insurance Commissioner and told him she would like to be the point of contact for anything regarding hyperbarics and HB1676. She also told him that she had the Executive Director of a hyperbaric association in her office and that she would use them as a resource for the law. Representative Ehrhardt’s commitment to this Bill and to the people of the state of Texas was very apparent after hearing her personal struggles with her husband’s health. This was a bill that would ensure no Texan had to endure what her family had to deal with.

June 27-28, 2001

Ken Locklear met with the law firm of Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin, & Oshinsky, LLP to discuss incorporation and administration of the association as well as the advancement of free standing centers (see page 22).

Ken Locklear & Ed Nemeth (Founding Member of the IHMA) met in Washington, DC to meet with congressional members to discuss the IHMA and its role within hyperbaric medicine. Meetings were held with several congressional offices. One senior staff member, Dr. Bill Duncan from Congressman Istook’s office (R-OK), is a colleague of Dr. Harch with whom he has been working since Feb. 2001. Meetings were also held with Congressman Clay Shaw & staffer Elizabeth Richardson (FL), Congressman Thomas M. Reynold’s (NY) staffers Tina Mufford and John Willis. All of these meetings were constructive and everyone was interested in the idea of saving healthcare dollars. Future meetings were planned for follow up pending the outcome of HB 1676 in Texas.

June 29, 2001

Dr. Duncan from Congressman Istook’s office set up several meetings for the IHMA’s President, Dr. Paul Harch while in Washington. Dr.’s Harch and Duncan met with CMS (formerly HCFA), the FDA, and NIH. Dr. Duncan invited the Executive Director of the UHMS, Mr. Don Chandler and any physicians that were interested in meeting with the NIH on HBOT, in conjunction with surgical and transplant procedures / reprofusion injury. Don Chandler was the only person present representing the UHMS.

Dr. Harch gave presentations on reprofusion injuries and surgical procedures/transplants to the transplant/wound healing team at National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. Results from the meeting were promising and they requested that grant applications be submitted.

Dr. Harch also met with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Circumstances of this presentation were based on the fact that about 80% of people still on welfare have substance abuse or mental health problems. They discussed ways to treat persons with substance abuse problems. It was clear to Dr. Duncan that HBOT was one of the best options for this group since brain injury remains even after substance abuse stops.

Two more meetings were held; one was with the Device division of the FDA, the last with CMS. The FDA meeting was enlightening. They had discussions regarding the way past indications were accepted and how the future of health care could change if this therapy were allowed to be administered with a simple prescription like any other therapy or drug. The final meeting was with Dr. Whyte from CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid), formerly HCFA Dr. Whyte is part of the HBOT evaluation group for CMS. Key issues regarding HBOT were discussed such as physician supervision, reimbursement, and new indications for use. Dr. Whyte made a point of mentioning how interested they were in Dr. Harch’s “Refreshing Presentation”. Check with the IHMA website to stay up to date on future meetings.

July 25-28, 2001

The 2nd International Symposium for Hyperbaric Oxygenation in Cerebral Palsy and the Brain-Injured Child was held in Boca Raton, FL and the IHMA had its public debut and first open meeting. Mr. Ed Nemeth and Ken Locklear both presented Dr. P. Marois the first Richard A. Neubauer award for Excellence in Hyperbaric Medicine and Pediatric Neurology (see page 19). This award was presented on behalf of Mr. Nemeth’s daughter and Friends of Rebecca, and in part by the IHMA. This award was bestowed upon Dr. Marois for his outstanding contributions and tireless defense of his research in HBOT & cerebral palsy.

Mr. Larry Korn became a Founding Corporate Member with his generous offer to provide free legal services to the IHMA for its incorporation, tax exemption status, and general start up. Legal services are something every new entity needs and the association is very grateful for this help.

August 2001

Conversations with Mr. Ed Nemeth of Spectrum Events turned to the creation of an independent Hyperbaric Treatment Foundation in the name of his daughter Rebecca. The foundation would be for families that cannot afford hyperbaric therapy and have either no insurance coverage or their existing coverage will not pay for HBOT. Mr. Nemeth agreed to help establish the infrastructure of the foundation and stated that he would donate the first round of funding in Rebecca’s name and on behalf of Friends of Rebecca.

Talks on how the treatment foundation will run are ongoing but the general idea and talking point of the foundation are as follows:

1. The treatment foundation will establish financial guidelines for qualification of a family/child.

2. Families seeking treatment will find a facility that is recognized by the foundation and apply for a grant with that center.

3. If the center agrees to match the IHMA contribution then the treating facility will forward the grant application to the foundation for consideration.

4. Upon acceptance, 1/3 of the treatment cost would be paid by the foundation while the treating facility would match the other 1/3. The family applying would then be responsible for the remaining 1/3. Travel expenses are a point of contention for many families so this is an ongoing issue for the foundation.

Fall 2001

Dr. Harch, working as the new president of the IHMA, submitted argument to CMS to reimburse for HBOT for the diabetic foot. Submission is acknowledged by CMS and Dr. Harch is directed to resubmit under a specific designation.

Dr. Harch, as the president of the IHMA, is sought by the implementation committee of Texas HB1676 as the expert consultant on HBOT protocols for neurology. Simultaneously, he is contacted by Dr. Caroline Fife, immediate past president of the UHMS, to submit protocols and well-designed outcomes-based IRB’s to the state of Texas.

An Oregon Evidence-Based Medicine group contacts Dr. Harch to ask him if he would serve as a peer-reviewer and consultant and to submit his library on HBOT in neurology to complete an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Federal Gov’t) funded worldwide literature search on this subject matter. The IHMA library is included in this submission.

February 1, 2002

Dr. Harch, Ken Locklear, and Ed Nemeth met with Exceptional Parent Magazine’s, Joe Valenzano, CEO and Publisher, Dr. Rick Rader, Editor, and Dr. Harold Turner, E Parent Advisory Board member to discuss a definitive “White Paper” on HBOT in neurology. The group met to organize the advisory board and discuss the content of this landmark paper. More information will be forth coming, as details become available.

The IHMA would not be possible without the overwhelming support of its members. We cannot list all of our members here but the IHMA would like to extend a special thank you to the following Founding and/or Corporate Members that have made this association possible:

American Baromedical Corporation, American Marine Corp., Dr. Michael Canale, Charles Catoe, Dr. Bill Duncan, Dr. Jerry Cupps, Environmental Tectonics, Corp. Dr. Jo Feingold, Thomas Fox, Dr. Paul Harch, Robert Hartsoe, Dr. Jeffrey Kopleson, Larry Korn, Kenneth Locklear, Dr. William Maxfield, Mid-South Hyperbarics, Ed Nemeth, Dr. Richard Neubauer, Dr. Charles Peery & Elaine Devlin-Peery-Charleston Hyperbarics, Patrick Rodriguez & Susan Rodriguez- Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics, John Spearman, Dr. Allan Spiegel, Dr. Donald Underwood, Dr. Richard Visser, Roque Wicker-Creative Image group, Dr. Kenneth Stoller-Simply Hyperbarics, Dr. David Youngblood.