10/02/2022
Meet Julio Torres, head of our Hyperbaric Chamber who has been with the Cozumel International Hospital for 30 years. “What I love about my job is seeing patients who arrive here in serious condition because of diving or other accidents walk out of here with smiles on their faces. Many come back even years later to show us how well they are doing and express their gratitude.”
Julio is also an Emergency Medical Technician and First Aid instructor. He was instrumental in establishing an evacuation system for divers in Cozumel that ensures our EMTs can reach a distressed diver in 5 minutes, be rapidly evaluated by medical staff, and start receiving treatment in our hyperbaric chamber within 20 minutes. “Almost no other hyperbaric chamber is ready to treat divers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week like we do,” he emphasizes. “In other places, patients have to wait 2-3 hours for a hyperbaric medicine doctor, panel operator, and chamber tender (who sits inside the chamber with patients) team to be assembled. We always have that team ready.”
Throughout his career, Julio has overcome many challenges—including doubts about his abilities because of his small stature (4 feet 11 inches/1.5 meters tall). “Many years ago I attended a Hyperbaric Chamber training in North Carolina with only US Navy men who were 2 meters tall,” he recalls. “My feet did not even touch the ground when I sat in a chair, and I had to use a step stool to reach the control panels in the trainings. To top it off, I was still learning English at the time.” The other guys made fun of him at first, asking “What is this little Mexican doing in hyperbarics?!” Undaunted, Julio finished at the top of the course, proving among other things that he could operate four separate hyperbaric chamber control panels with multiple patients at once. “The other guys and I became friends, and they even came to me for advice and tips,” he recounts. “Height and nationality do not matter in this field. Ability and a passion for saving lives do.”
We are grateful to have Julio as part of our team, knowing our hyperbaric chamber patients are in the best hands.