Interviewer(s): D. Austin. New Orleans, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Dr. Keith Van Meter has been treating commercial oilfield divers since 1978 and was mentioned by many divers as an excellent source of information on the diving industry and on injuries and their treatment. I contacted Dr. Van Meter and was able to arrange an interview with him on a Friday evening at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Despite his busy schedule, he graciously spent two hours with me talking about his career, his work with commercial divers, and the advance of hyperbaric medicine. After our interview, he took me down to the basement of the hospital to see the new hyperbaric treatment facility that is scheduled to open in June 2005.

Dr. Keith Van Meter was first exposed to commercial diving in 1978 when he was working in the emergency department at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and was called to go help a diver who was in saturation. He went into the chamber and was kept locked down for five days with the diver. After discovering the experience was not too bad and becoming interested in diving medicine, Dr. Van Meter took specialized courses on the subject. He continued to study and treat divers and began to develop a research program on hyperbaric medicine. Despite numerous challenges gaining financial and institutional support, he persevered in his efforts and has become one of the leading physicians in the field.