UNDERSEA & HYPERBARIC MEDICAL SOCIETY 

Pacific Chapter Officers

Dick Sample has been employed at Loma Linda University Medical Center since 1973.  He began working in hyperbaric medicine in 1983 after a ten-year career as a respiratory care practitioner specializing in adult critical care and management.   In 1990 he became technical director and in 2003 safety director. Dick is a licensed Respiratory Care Practitioner, Registered Respiratory Therapist and Certified Hyperbaric Technician.  He is a member of the American Association for Respiratory Care, California Society for Respiratory Care, Hyperbaric Technicians and Nurses Association, Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, and currently serves on the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society Associates Executive Board where he also acts as Scientific Program Chairperson.  He has presented research papers internationally,  and has won several abstract presentation awards.

Dr. Steven Kirtland received his MD from the University of California, San Diego in 1986, and completed his residency in Internal medicine at Virginia Mason Medical Center where he also served as Chief Resident. Subsequently, he was a pulmonary-critical care fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle.  He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine, Sleep Disorders Medicine and Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine.  Dr. Kirtland currently practices Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine, Sleep Disorder Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington.  He is the Deputy Director of the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at Virginia Mason and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Stuart Miller practices Hyperbaric Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, Long Beach, CA

Matthew S. Berry, MD, FACP, FAAEP, Chapter Executive Director, Past President 2000-2001

Dr. Matthew S. Berry has lectured internationally on various aspects of underwater medicine.  After receiving his M.D. from Tufts Medical School in 1986, he completed his post-graduate training at LAC-USC Medical Center and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Berry is board certified in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine. He practices medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, West Los Angeles and is on the faculty at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He is the Kaiser Permanente Resource Physician for Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and is the Secretary of the American Academy of Emergency Physicians.  Dr. Berry is also a NAUI Dive Instructor, an avid underwater photographer and has won international underwater photographic competitions.

Ralph Potkin, MD received his medical degree from Chicago Medical School in 1975. His post graduate training included a residency in internal medicine and fellowships in cardiology and pulmonary medicine, all at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Potkin is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine. Dr. Potkin is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine.  Dr. Potkin is the Medical Director of the Beverly Hills Center for Hyperbaric Medicine. His facility is the only nationally accredited independent hyperbaric medical center in the entire United States. Dr. Potkin is an expert scuba diver and he has explored underwater many areas of the globe including the Antarctica. He serves as a medical advisor to the Dive Alert Network and has a special interest in Scuba Diving and asthma. Presently, Dr. Potkin is the physician for the United States Breath-Hold team. In addition, he is actively involved in clinical research of heart, lung and brain function in these amazing elite athletes.
 

Lorre Henderson, OD, MD, FACS  completed Optometry School at the University of Houston in 1976 and practiced optometry in Houston, Texas for several years.  He received his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1981, completed two years of General Surgery followed by three years of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Hermann Hospital and M.D. Anderson Hospital & Tumor Institute in Houston.  Dr. Henderson has been in private otolaryngology practice in the San Francisco Bay Area since completing his residency in 1986.  He was in hyperbaric medicine in the Bay Area for 10 years.  He is board-certified in Optometry, Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine.  He has been an active diver since 1970 and lectures nationally and internationally on otolaryngologic problems related to diving. 

Dr. Jim Holm is the Medical Director of the Hyperbaric Medicine Department at Memorial Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He received his medical degree from Georgetown University in 1985, and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at Northwestern University in 1989, where he also served as Chief Resident.  Dr. Holm is board certified in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine.  He has been on the faculty for the Divers Alert Network's Diving Medicine Courses since 2003.  Additionally Dr. Holm is both a NAUI and PADI Diving Instructor. 

Dr. Ron Bangasser passed away May 2, 2007 at the age of 57.  Ron was a family physician, Director of External Affairs for the Beaver Medical Group in Redlands and the Medical Director of the Wound Care Department at Redlands Community Hospital. In addition to being an outstanding physician, he was a nationally recognized leader in medicine.  In March 2003, he was elected President of the California Medical Association. From 2001-2002, he was Speaker of the California Medical Association House of Delegates, CMA’s policy-making body.  Among his many appointments, he was Chair of the CMA Committee on Managed Care, Vice Chair of the CMA Hospital Medical Staff Section Executive Board, and President and Board Chair of the California Foundation for Medical Care. He also served as a member of the California Delegation to the AMA and in June 2001, he was elected to AMA’s Council on Medical Service. 

Steve Duffy joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1961 and qualified as a Ship's Diver in 1965. He was accepted into the Clearance Diver trade in 1968 and received his naval diver training at the Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) in Esquimalt, British Columbia and the Naval School of Diving and Salvage in Washington DC. He joined the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia in 1975 where is is an Occupational Safety Officer specializing in commercial diving operations. He is also a Blasting Examiner and examines blasters in the safe use of explosives. He is a member of the Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee on Diving and Caisson Systems, the Sub-committee Chairman for the Z275.2, Occupational Safety Code for Diving Operations and a member of the Z275.4 Competency Standard for Diving Operations.

Dr. John Benjamin Slade is currently the Associate Medical Director for Hyperbaric Medicine at three northern California hospitals, based at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, CA, and works part time in the Center for Wound Care at Vaca Valley Hospital in Vacaville, CA. He is board certified in Family Practice and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. A member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), Dr. Slade is currently the chairman of the Membership Committee, and serves as a member of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Education Committees. He is past-President of the Pacific Coast Chapter of the UHMS. He is a frequent speaker on hyperbaric medicine-related topics, and has multiple publications.

Dr. Tabby Stone practices Pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City and is an  Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at USC. He developed an interest in diving medicine following his initial dive certification in 1979. He lectures to both divers and medical audiences on diving topics and was the author of the Medical Facts column in Discover Diving from 1988 to 1999.

Dr. Lindell Weaver is the medical director of the Hyperbaric Unit at LDS hospital in Salt Lake City, a position he has held since 1987.  He is the southwest regional coordinator for DAN, and is the current President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS).  He is is the recipient of the 2003 Paul Bert award in recognition of continued diligence and excellence in the practice of hyperbaric medicine and basic research. Dr. Weaver is the current President of the UHMS.

Dr. Maida Taylor practices Obstetrics and Gynecology in he San Francisco area.  She received her MD from Stanford University, and completed her post graduate training at the University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Taylor is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California at San Francisco.   She has published numerous articles and written several chapters on OB-Gyn and Diving Medicine, and has lectured internationally on various aspects of underwater medicine.

Edmond Kay "doc" was a field medic with the U. S. Marines in Vietnam (1968), receiving a Purple Heart. He received his B.S. (Summa Cum Lauda) from UCSD and his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his Diving and Hyperbaric training at NOAA in 1988. For the last 23 years doc has been a Board Certified Family Physician devoted to the practice of Family Medicine and Diving Medicine in Seattle. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor, Diving Medical Officer for the University of Washington, a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Medical Director of the Divers Institute in Seattle.  Dr. Kay authored the first Diving Medicine web site, which is now in its seventh year of continuous operation. Doc is also past president of the King County Academy of Family Physicians. He is currently a regional diving medical consultant for DAN and has been diving for 30 years.

Dr. Karen Van Hoesen finished her residency in Emergency Medicine and a Fellowship in Hyperbaric Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in 1993. She is on faculty at UCSD where she is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and is the Director of the Diving Medicine Center. She conducts ongoing research and treatments at the UCSD hyperbaric chamber. She is active in the National Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and is on the DAN Board of Directors.

Dr. Michael Lewpasky is the Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at Vancouver Hospital & Health Sciences Center.  He has numerous publications on various aspects of Hyperbaric Medicine and is a frequent international lecturer.

Richard Dunford is the manager of the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle Washington and received the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year award in 1998. After completing his term as Chapter President in 1988, Richard became the Executive Director of the chapter. He recently stepped down after 12 years as Executive Director. During his tenure he was the backbone of the chapter, providing invaluable help to all the Presidents and consistency to the chapter.