HBOT Conversations:
Elena Schertz & Tom Fox
(Part 5) – COVID
Elena Schetz, NP is the nurse practitioner, and Tom Fox is the Safety Director at Extivita-RTP. Extivita-RTP offers a positive environment for healing, and they encourage anyone seeking a better quality of life to come visit them and experience for themselves the wonder of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
Watch the Podcast
In a Special 5-part series with Extivita’s Nurse Practitioner, Elena Schertz, and Safety Director, Tom Fox, we dive into the extraordinary powers of HBOT, and the healing they have witnessed for a variety of conditions. The following segments prelude this episode:
Part 1 – HBOT for PTSD (veteran focus)
Part 2 – Concussions & HBOT
Part 3 – Healing Heart Disease with HBOT
Part 4 – Cancer & Cerebral Palsy
In this final episode, we discuss COVID, and how long-haulers are finally finding relief in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
Host di Girolamo starts the conversation explaining that people who suffer from brain fog, oxygen shortages, and fatigue are discovering that HBOT is providing them relief. Tom chimes in that early oxygen delivery and pre-hospitalization was something the Italians saw in COVID as it progressed, and they discovered the role of HBOT in the acute care stage of COVID. The Italians witnessed patients who were heading in the wrong direction being released from the hospital after only 5 hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments. The role of hyperbaric oxygen in COVID cases is incredible. Tom reminds us that only about 1,400 of the 6,500 hospital in the US have HBOT chambers, meaning that it is not a standard of care.
Studies out of Britain state ten HBOT treatments are ideal for COVID patients to witness a complete turn-around, and they get their lives back in two weeks. Tom explains that 40% of their patients are long-haul COVID and they’re coming to a HBOT clinic because there’s no other option. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy DOES return a COVID patient back to their baseline.
Chronic, or long-haul COVID patients (someone who has been dealing with symptoms for months or years) will likely need more treatments, but there is still so much hope. Elena says that the long-haul COVID patients who have come to see her have all improved. Elena has seen some long-haul COVID patients get better in as little as 4 treatments, and then there are some patients who need 40 treatments. Just like how everyone responds to COVID differently, the same goes for HBOT to treat COVID. There’s no magic number; but if you get in quicker then it’s more likely you won’t need as many treatments. In the end, it’s important to simply know that HBOT hands-down does help COVID patients, and it’s worth a try.
“Elena states, “I want to say it’s kind of easily fixed, you know, the fatigue. I’ve seen it over and over again. Until somebody comes in and disputes that or I see that, then I’ll keep saying, yeah, it really is very effective. I’ve seen it 100% of the time. It really is 100%”
And then there are the vaccine injuries. Tom stresses that he believes in the power of vaccines, he his definitely not an anti-vaxxer. But, when he looks at what’s going on in the world today it’s concerning. If you were to document a vaccine injury right now, it’s almost like the kiss of death to anybody that reaches out to challenge vaccines.
“We’re downplaying the VAER system. You know, in the current vaccine, with the number of reactions that we’ve seen with the current vaccine, previous vaccines would have been taken off the market.
HBOT News appreciates Tom and Elena joining us in our Conversations podcast and invites you to check out their clinic, Extivita-RTP if you are ever in the Raleigh, NC area.
Guests

Elena Schertz, NP - Clinic Manager at Extivita RTP
Elena worked as a nurse in the pediatric oncology, cardiac, and surgical units at UNC hospitals for 15 years before deciding to work in integrative medicine. After years of working as a nurse, she decided to pursue her graduate degree, completing her masters with honors. She is board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Elena’s passion for integrative medicine comes from her knowledge that the mind, body and psych/social/spiritual systems are not separate. The focus of Elena’s practice is to approach each of her patient’s healing process from the perspective of the whole, supported and grounded in safety and evidence-based medicine. She also maintains close consultative relationships with experts in the field to promote and enhance wellness for her patients. Elena joined the wonderful Extivita team in March 2019 and is thrilled to be a part of advancing health and wellness through hyperbaric medicine.

Thomas M. Fox, MAS,MS, CHT - Safety Director at Extivita RTP
Tom joined the Extivita team in 2022 as the Safety Director, helping Extivita to maintain a healthy and safe environment for exceptional patient care.
Extivita-RTP – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Clinic
2012-D TW Alexander Drive
Durham, NC 27709
919-354-3775
919-354-3776
contact@extivita.org
https://www.extivita.org/
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Recent HBOT News
Clinical Trial – Hyperbaric Oxygen for Carbon Monoxide Induced Chronic Encephalopathy
in some patients, a few days or weeks after they recover from carbon monoxide poisoning they
develop new symptoms. These can affect mood, ability to think or remember clearly, and
movements. Some people develop movement problems that are similar to Parkinson’s disease.
This damage to brain tissue is called "encephalopathy," and this study will look at the
effect of pressurized oxygen therapy on long term, or chronic, encephalopathy.
A new treatment could benefit vets with PTSD and brain injury, lawmakers want insurers to reimburse for it
Through the use of hyperbaric, oxygen-rich chambers, medical researchers have found a way to restore a significant amount of neurological function in brain tissue thought to be chronically damaged by stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder — even years after
Clinical Trial – Plethysmographic Variability Index in Post Spinal Anesthesia Hypotension in Cesarean Section
– Full term pregnant female patients presented for elective C.S for single viable fetus
will be included in this study.
– Before anesthesia, the patient will be attached to a monitor of: ECG , heart rate, non
invasive blood pressure, pulse taximeter applied on the index finger of the limb not
attached to the blood pressure cuff, pulse oximetry and plethysmographic variability
index (PVI) and perfusion index (PI) will be taken by (Massimo radical 7, Massimo corp.
USA). Measures will be recorded every 5 minutes preoperative.
– Patients with PVI <15 will be excluded from the study.
- Patients with PVI > 15 are started on intravenous infusion of warm ringer lactate
solution via suitable pore intravenous cannula to reach target of PVI <15 or a total 1
liter of ringer lactate.
- The patients in which the PVI is corrected by fluid to level below 15 will be Group (C)
or corrected group. Patients in which intravenous fluid administration did not result
any change in PVI or changed but still higher than 15 will be Group (NC) or non
corrected group.
After preoperative preparation patient is shifted to operating theater, with all monitors
applied. She will receive spinal block at lumbar 3-4 space with hyperbaric bupivacaine 8 mg
plus 25 mic fentanyl. After giving anesthesia and positioning for surgery with a left lateral
tilt of 15 degrees,

