HONOLULU (KHON2) — Nearly 100 people gathered at Kuakini Medical Center’s Hale Pulama Mau Auditorium to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the University of Hawai‘i Hyperbaric Treatment Center.
Operated by University Health Partners of Hawai‘i, the milestone marked four decades of lifesaving care, pioneering research and public service in hyperbaric medicine.
The event featured guided tours, historical displays and a clinical session sharing the science behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT.
Guests included state legislators, a Honolulu City Council member, physicians, staff and community supporters. They honored the center’s unique role as the Pacific’s only public, 24-hour hyperbaric facility.
Two official certificates were presented during the program — one from the State of Hawai‘i Legislature and one from the Honolulu City Council — to recognize the center’s 40 years of service and its ongoing commitment to diver safety and community health.
Lifesaving science and community impact
Since opening in 1983, the Hyperbaric Treatment Center has treated more than 5,000 patients and is expected to complete more than 40,000 individual treatments by the end of 2025.
The center provides HBOT for 16 conditions approved by Medicare and the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.
These include:
- decompression sickness.
- diabetic lower limb ulcers.
- radiation injuries.
- sudden hearing loss.
- severe infections.
- complex non-healing wounds.
For more information, contact (808) 587-3425 or htc@ucera.org.
Designated as the Pacific Regional Coordination Center by the Divers Alert Network, the University of Hawai‘i Hyperbaric Treatment Center continues to advance training, research and care for patients across Hawai‘i and the Pacific.