The USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is dedicated to diver safety so organizers obviously been thinking about how COVID-19 may affect Chamber Day 2020 and their efforts leading up to it.
There’s no real way to accurately gauge today what the status of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on May 6. For now, organizers are proceeding in the hope that things will have returned to a sense of normal and they’ll be able to conduct both Chamber Day and Chamber Eve. (Assuming the ban on large public gatherings has been lifted.)
But please be assured that, important as this event is to keeping the Chamber fully functioning, your safety comes first and we at the Chamber will not knowingly do anything that would jeopardize it.
Since two of our major fund-raising components – the Chamber Challenge and the Flying Dutchman – are totally based on-line, they are not affected at all by what’s happening. For those of you who are considering signing up for the Day or Eve, but might be concerned about attending an in-person event, we’d ask that you strongly consider doing the Dutchman or the Challenge (or both), because our Chamber still needs the financial support of our diving community.
Meanwhile, the USC school boat Miss Christi has suspended all passenger travel between the Southern California Marine Institute and the USC Wrigley Institute, where the chamber is located. Instead, the vessel is being used to transport critical supplies over to the Island for the time being.
Wade McDonald, a freelance writer for the Catalina Islander and also a scheduled Chamber technician intern in training, was recently told by a University Of Southern California advisor that he and several others would not be able to travel to the Chamber until further notice.
Organizers are less than eight weeks away from Chamber Day 2020. The 32nd annual Chamber Day and 22nd annual Chamber Evening Fund Raiser for the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 6 (subject to change).
You have plenty of opportunities to help support the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, which is celebrating its 46th year of service to the Southern California diving communities.
During the past 46 years, the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber has been dedicated to the treatment of diving accidents on a 24/7/365 basis. Having the Chamber available gives divers in Southern California waters a vital safety net in the event of a diving accident.
The Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is a unique cooperative program, with financial support from the Southern California Diving Communities and Los Angeles County. With a little less than half of the Chamber’s annual budget coming from a LA County contract, the annual Chamber Day contributions from divers, clubs, shops, manufacturers, organizations, publications and dive boat operators are essential in funding the remainder.
These funds go to covering transportation of Chamber volunteers to and from the mainland, treatment gases, equipment purchases, maintenance, and repairs.
For more information on how you can be involved in Chamber Day and Chamber Evening 2020, visit the Chamber Day web site at www.ChamberDay.org or call 310-652-4990.
You can also get updates on Chamber Day and other Chamber Events by becoming a Facebook Fan of the Chamber or following us on Instagram: @usc_hyperbaric_chamber.
Karl E. Huggins is the director of the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.
Wade McDonald contributed to this article.
