Bend hyperbaric chamber business offers oxygen therapy for low cost

(Update: Adding video, comments from business owners, 10-year-old who needed oxygen therapy)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend business has dived head-first into the world of recovery and alternative therapies after realizing certain types of treatments were limited in Central Oregon.

Halo Hyperbarics & Healing was started by a Bend woman after her son required oxygen therapy.

After seeing the benefits, Jamie Jones wanted to offer the treatment at a low cost for others who might be in need.

Her son, 10-year-old Cutler, was born with a birth defect called hypospadias. He underwent five surgeries in Oregon, but none were successful.

His family, including his mom Jamie, then took him to Dallas, Texas for treatment. After a successful surgery, Cutler's doctor recommended oxygen therapy.

Cutler told NewsChannel 21, "The people here (in Bend) we're really nice, but it was all really expensive (for treatment)."

Jamie Jones described what happens when you get inside a hyperbaric chamber: "You go to 1.3 atmospheres, so you're breathing 97% oxygen while going 11 feet below sea level. And the combination of the two, you're breathing that oxygen in, and it goes throughout your entire body, and it hits your blood plasma. So it attacks any pain or inflammation. It regenerates red blood cells."

When seeking hyperbaric sessions in Central Oregon, Jamie found them to be beyond her budget for the amount of visits her son needed.

Jamie's struggle to obtain oxygen therapy for her son in Bend was the inspiration for her own business.

She detailed what a first session may look like. "Your first session, you're here for probably about an hour and 20 minutes by the time we explain everything and make you comfortable. You're not rushed. We take our time to explain everything, get you in the chamber and enjoy hyperbaric."

Jamie, her husband and her sister-in-law pooled money together to get five chambers for their business, with each costing around $20,000 apiece.

Teresa Baggett, Jamie's sister-in-law, told us Tuesday, "Our heart is to help people, and seeing how they had to go through trying to find a place here in Bend and it not being affordable. I was like, 'Yes, we need to do this.'"

According to the FDA, the air we breathe contains 21% oxygen.

In a hyperbaric chamber, the oxygen level can be as high as 100%, allowing your lungs to collect more oxygen and restore tissues.

The FDA approved hyperbaric chambers in 2021 to treat more than a dozen different disorders, including anemia, carbon monoxide poisoning, skin burns and radiation injury.

Professional athletes and teams like the Philadelphia Eagles have used oxygen therapy to stimulate red blood cells and promote healing in tissues.

Jamie said, "After they do a long bike race or a football game or whatever they're doing, that oxygen goes throughout their body and replenishes all their muscles. So it's basically just a recovery for your entire body."

Ten-year-old Cutler also had one final thought: "I like this place, because now I can go here in the summer, and it's pretty much my favorite place. I come here a lot."

At Halo Hyperbarics & Healing, veterans and first responders get their first session free, while the public can get their first session for $69.

The FDA says there can be side effects when trying out a hyperbaric chamber, including ear and sinus pain and temporary vision changes. They also recommend you check with your health care provider before using a hyperbaric chamber.