Opening an Intermountain Health Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic in Colorado is a Big Lift

Work outside Intermountain Health Lutheran Medical Office Building in Wheat Ridge, Colo. recently resembled something from a science fiction movie. 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 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. 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.

NOTE TO REPORTERS: Videos and images available upon request.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, over 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org/.