About Us

The Staff at Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery are empathetic, having been patients themselves. They are highly trained by the best in the industry - also staying up to date by attending the most current symposiums and workshops on Hyperbaric medicine. By aligning themselves with the top Physicians and minds in Hyperbaric medicine, Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery is positioning themselves as a premier facility for Advanced Oxygen Therapy, an ambition that has been made manifest through various awards and recognitions received over the past several years.

Awards

Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery Team

Dr. Roberta Ekholm, RN, DO
Consulting Physician

Janine Thill, CHT, EMT
Program Director

Lorenzo Alviso, CHT, EMT
Systems Manager & PR

Zachary Thill, CHT
Technical Director & Patient Advocate

Ruth Walker, CHT
Marketing Director & Physician Relations

Denora Alviso, HT
Administrator & Billing Specialist

Scientific Board of Advisors

And Top-notch medical facilities and providers

Dr Jacqueline S Chan, DO

Dr Jacqueline S Chan, DO

Dr Jacqueline S Chan, DO is Board Certified in Family Practice, Board Certified in Holistic Medicine, Board Certified in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine, including Osteopathic Medical Board of California and a DEA License. She has professional memberships with the American College of Advanced Medicine, The Cranial Academy, American Association of Osteopathy and American Osteopathic Association.

Jacqueline currently works at the Clear Center of Health in Mill Valley, CA, where she helps introduce cutting-edge, state-of-the-art integrative medicine that combines proven medical practices of western medicine with studied natural and holistic methods. She has begun an exciting Masters program in Sausalito, CA which focuses on integrative medicine and which will no doubt provide exciting and beneficial medical expertise for patients. Dr Chan has a long history of supporting women’s health and holistic integration and wellness, including holding board memberships with associations and appearing as a panelist for medical presentations featured in print, via radio programming and television.

Jacqueline S - 2011 CV (PDF)

Dr Roberta Ekholm, RN, DO

Dr Roberta Ekholm, RN, DO is Board Certified by the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners with specialties in Urgent Care, Osteopathic manipulations and Travel Medicine. Dr Ekholm has been associated with the American Osteopathic association, Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California and the Osteopathic Medical Foundation.

Besides experience in Hospitals, Urgent care centers, Medical centers and in Private Practice, we feel honored and blessed that Dr Ekholm will be sharing her knowledge and skills with our patients. Dr Ekholm holds the faculty position as an Assistant Professor at the esteemed Touro College of Osteopathic medicine in Northern California where she teaches other medical professionals. Dr Ekholm is excited to be able to utilize her knowledge and confidence of Hyperbaric Medicine for those in need of true healing.

Elaine Stanifer-Chang DPM

Elaine Stanifer-Chang, MD, DPM

Dr Elaine Stanifer’s interest in the health field and in medicine began at an early age. In college she explored physical therapy and sports medicine which opened the door for her career in podiatric medicine and surgery. After working in private practice and participating in various athletic endeavors, she became more interested in the overall well being of the body and developed a practice of meditation and energetic healing. She currently resides in Santa Rosa, California where she has been raising her 3 children and maintaining a surgical assisting practice and teaching meditation classes.

Elaine Stanifer received her doctor of podiatric medicine from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine after having completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Physiology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She attended a two year surgical residency program at St. John’s Hospital North shore in Michigan. Upon graduation, she spent a year in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. She then moved back to her native state of California to continue private practice in the San Francisco area.

Barry Baker

Barry Baker
Safety and Compliance

Barry is the Vice president of Marketing Development for Pan-America Hyperbarics, INC.

Barry has assisted in the inspection and maintenance of our Pan-American chamber, which has some of the latest cutting-edge technology available for hyperbaric chambers and equipment. Barry has also inspected the facility and procedures as they directly correlate to the chamber operation. We appreciate that Barry is so hardworking and dedicated to his profession, and always has time for our questions and suggestions.

Charles Bell, DMV, CHT

Charles Bell, DMV, CHT
Safety and Compliance

  • Responsible for operations of 12 Hospital Outpatient wound care and hyperbaric facilities.

    • Ensuring compliance per company and hospital policies.
    • Communication between hospital administration.
    • Educating Nursing staff to identify hyperbaric patients per Medicare standards.

  • Responsible for repairs and annual maintenance for 30 Sechrist monoplace chambers. Also has done maintenance on Sands and Perry Baromedical chambers.

    Assisted with development of New Wound Care and Hyperbaric facilities

    • Coordinate design efforts with architects for new facilities.
    • Install Hyperbaric Chambers Per NFPA Code.
    • Coordinate and Train Physician Panel.
    • Educate hospital coding and billing departments on services offered.
    • Purchased Equipment and supplies for new units while operating on a budget determined by my employer.
Bonney Meyer, RN

Bonney Meyer, RN
Patient Advocate
www.LifeSkillsUniversal.com

Bonney is a nurse with 20 years of experience working in the ICU, educator, author and coach. She received a B.S.R.N. degree from University of Wisconsin in 1979 and has worked as a medical professional for two decades in all facets of medicine. She has extensive training in counseling methodologies and goal-directed coaching including Neurolinguistic Programming, behavioral and communication psychology.

Patients benefit from various articles, techniques and health/life coaching exercises that Bonney provides that help support and enhance the healing process. Bonney has experienced personal healing with HBOT and offers firsthand advice to those who are suffering and who want to attain better health through Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Partners in Health and Healing

Charles Bell, DMV, CHT

Mike Toll, CHT
Safety and Compliance

Mike is a Field Technician for Pan-America Hyperbarics, Inc., which has some of the latest cutting-edge technology available for hyperbaric chambers and equipment. Mike has 10 years of experience in Hyperbaric medicine and has worked in some of the largest hyperbaric facilities across America. With a great attitude and a vast knowledge of hyperbaric systems, Mike offers invaluable assistance in HBOT operations, safety and maintenance.

AzRa MaEl, MD

AzRa MaEl, MD
www.aaimed.com

Education and Professional Affiliations:

Education
Duke University School of Medicine, Durham NC (MD)

Residency
Family Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Professional Memberships and Certifications
Board Certified, Family Medicine
Certified Chelation Therapy Physician

Dr. AzRa MaEl traveled internationally to pursue his training in integrative medicine. His mission to explore the true causes of health and disease results in finding paths to wellness through nutritional medicine, herbology, naturopathy, prolotherapy, body psychotherapy, neural therapy, detoxification, homeopathy and oxygen therapies — as well as other techniques. His healing philosophy is basic: "use what works." He often draws from eclectic sources to find the safest, most effective treatments.

Optimum Health Clinic

Optimum Health Clinic
www.OptimumHealthClinic.Info

The Optimum Health Clinic is unlike other medical offices that only treat disease. Nancy Gardner PhD has assembled a team of proficient holistic professionals, state-of–the-art therapies and the latest in diagnostic tools to help give you a customized treatment plan to maintain optimum health and vitality.

Nancy Gardner, PhD
Nancy Gardner has a Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Clinical Research. Additionally she has ten years post graduate training in nutrition at the American College of Advancement in Medicine. She is certified by the American Board of Thermology (since 1998) and has been practicing Thermography for more than 15 years. She is the CEO and director of the Optimum Health Clinic Inc. The Optimum Health Clinic opened its doors in Marin County over 27 years ago and has been on the cutting edge of preventative medicine ever since.

Clear Center

Clear Center
www.ClearCenterOfHealth.com

Established in 2002, CLEAR Center of Health has always been dedicated to providing compassionate and cutting-edge medicine to the Bay area and nationally. CLEAR Center is a state-of-the-art integrative medical clinic offering the latest advances in western medicine in conjunction with a blend of studied natural and holistic modalities. This effective combination maximizes our practitioners’ ability to identify and clear the impediments to achieving optimal health. This comprehensive, powerful blend of scientific and natural therapies yields results that exceed our patients’ expectations.

Beth McDougall, M.D. is the founder and medical director of the CLEAR Center of Health and the creator of the CLEAR Protocol™ for natural, comprehensive hormone balance. She is a nationally recognized expert and community educator: she empowers patients and trains doctors in Integrative Medicine. Dr. McDougall has organized educational symposia on Integrative Medicine for the allopathic community, planned interdisciplinary health science curricula on Integrative Medicine, and helped start a university department that coordinated research, clinical services, and education in spirituality, cross-cultural medicine, and Integrative Medicine at the University of Minnesota. For these and other efforts, Dr. McDougall was honored by the American Holistic Medical Association. Trained extensively in both western allopathic medicine and Integrative Medicine, Dr. McDougall has dedicated her career to bridging these two disciplines.

Gordon Medical Associates

Gordon Medical Associates
Advanced Alternatives in Integrative
www.aaimed.com

Alternative and complementary medicine were once limited to supplements and herbs. Today , these approaches are a part of a comprehensive system of many disciplines.

Gordon Medical Associates is internationally recognized for helping patients who felt ill but had "normal" test results. Our initial success came with the management of complex pain problems, as well as fibromyalgia, heavy metal toxicity, Lyme disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

The word spread as we successfully tackled autoimmune diseases and environmentally and chemically triggered problems.

We were early proponents of bio-identical hormone balancing, the treatment of toxic mold problems, and new approaches to working with autism. And we offer specialty services in prevention, wellness, hormone balancing and women’s health. In every instance, our clinicians tailor optimal treatments to your individual symptoms.

Local Oxygen Therapy Center Recognized Internationally

Advanced Oxygen Therapy center in Northern California gains international attention for providing superior care and education-based services.

Rohnert Park, California, USA, August 4th, 2008—Free-standing clinic honored with awards at International symposium for Hyperbaric Medicine.

Have you heard of Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery of Marin California? Many Northern California residents have not, yet this advanced physician-referred outpatient oxygen therapy center is being recognized by Doctors all over the world for their uncommon quality of care and their mission of teaching people about what they do. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a high density oxygen treatment that improves the patients healing ability. By gradually raising the pressure of oxygen that the patient breathes, the body's tissues, vital organs and areas of low oxygen are saturated in a safe and effective manner.

Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery is a privately owned freestanding clinic that provides hospital standards of care with a patient-friendly, education-based mission. Hyperbaric technologist and program director, Janine Thill, NC, CHT says she owes her life to HBOT and aims to bring HBOT to those who are suffering and who could really benefit from its healing qualities. Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery is the only facility in the bay area north of San Francisco utilizing hard chambers, proven patient protocols and state-of-the-art equipment. Medical Director Kenneth P. Stoller, MD, FACS has proven to be a wealth of information to patients seeking treatment. What makes this facility stand out is the staff's dedication to educate the public about HBOT and to help any interested one every step of the way on their path to recovery. The entire staff is qualified to help patients appeal to their medical professionals and get the treatment that they need. Thill and her staff have devised step by step strategies to help expedite the prescription process, as well as promote HBOT by offering tours, orientations, presentations at local operations and personal, one on one help with all perspective individuals. These services are all completely complimentary and ongoing.

Patient advocacy like this is uncommon for some forms of adjunctive therapies, and it has not been overlooked. From Thursday July 24th to Saturday July 26th, 2008 the staff of Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery were sitting shoulder to shoulder with some of the most influential and revered physicians and medical professionals in Hyperbaric Medicine. The 6th International Symposium on Hyperbaric Medicine was held in Torrance, California and along with the 25+ hours of scheduled speakers, a special awards Gala Dinner highlighted the event. After two and a half years of successful operations and outcomes, Hyperbaric Recovery Center has recently been awarded Finalist for "Hyperbaric Center of the Year, 2008" as well as an honored appointment for "CHT of the Year, 2008—Janine M Thill" as voted on by patients and an international panel of doctors, and presented by the Richard A. Neubauer Institute.

The staff at Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery say that they owe all of their recent recognition to the patients and supporters who have been along for the journey since the center's humble beginnings. Besides various heartfelt testimonials and acknowledgements, the growing success of the center is also attributed to the contribution and donation work that they have established since the start of their operation in 2006. In total, Hyperbaric Recovery has contributed over $74,470 towards the treatment of patients who were destitute and desperately needing treatment.

Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery is the superior hyperbaric oxygen center in Northern California. They have become preferred providers for a few prominent insurance companies, which can help many patients get treatment started without worry. To experience the services provided at Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery, simply call the office line and you will speak with a real live team member who can help answer your questions, schedule a complimentary tour and help you start on your own path to true healing.

Janine's Story

(Reprint of article from The Community Voice)

Super Oxygen to the Rescue
Lyme Disease and other ailments tamed in RP's hyperbaric chamber
By Jud Snyder
HRRC Team

Four out of five members of the Thill family came down with Lyme Disease. It's called "California's Hidden Epidemic" , and is prevalent in 52 California counties. Lyme Disease almost always flies below the medical radar. It is not life-threatening, it brings on a multitude of symptoms that do not call for hospitalization and is treated symptomatically with a blizzard of drugs, antibiotics, intravenous boosters and supportive help. It is a persistent disease and insurance companies are reluctant to get involved.

"I couldn't comb my hair or dress myself," said Janine Marie Thill. "Nothing seamed to help. Then I heard of hyperbaric therapy. I had friends in Carlsbad near San Diego where a hyperbaric therapy center was located and had 30 days of treatment. From days of unable to function I began to feel improvement after 4 hours and by 26 hours I was almost back to my pre-Lyme condition."

Janine Thill didn't stop there. She plunged into the world of hyperbaric therapy. She already had pre-nursing studies at Santa Rosa Junior College to provide a head start. She and her husband, Richard (he has Lyme Disease also), took out a second mortgage on their home and invested in a hyperbaric therapy center in Rohnert Park at 1370 Medical Center Drive. It wasn't easy. Special pipes are needed for the oxygen and the "hard chamber" itself has a minimum price tag of $250,000. There are "soft chambers" utilizing oxygen masks but these have drawbacks.

Their clinic is open daily and drop-in visitors are welcome to come inside and take a look. The phone number is 584-HEAL (4325).

It's called Hyperbaric Recovery and Rejuvenation Center. The name implies it's not a cure-all and as far as the Thill knows it's the only one north of a center at UC San Francisco.

The hyperbaric chamber itself resembles a typical CAT scan chamber. Patients are slid inside for 90-minute sessions and they can read a book or look at DVD's while filing their lungs with pure oxygen. Richard was inside one enjoying another look at a "Star Wars" DVD.

How does the process work? Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) gradually increases the oxygen level above the usual 15-20 percent oxygen level found in normal air. "It goes into the red blood cells and the increased metabolism of the parasites in the red blood cells due to large amounts of oxygen causes the parasites to virtually eat themselves. They die and are evacuated through normal means," said Thill. "That's a non-scientific explanation and perhaps an oversimplification, but it's basically sound."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautiously lists only 14 examples where HGOT is use full. Most of them are traumatic cases like exceptional blood loss, cyanide poisoning, non-healing wounds, and extensive burns.

"But HBOT has proved to be helpful in a vast number of other conditions," she said. "In Europe, Japan, and China for example, HBOT is used in 70 or 80 disorders. These include stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, head injuries, autism, vascular diseases, fibromyalgia, decreased immune functions.

"Saturating the tissues with oxygen reverses hypoxia (low oxygen levels), promotes angiogenesis (growth of new vessels), decreases swelling, deactivates toxins and increases the body's ability to fight infections," Thill added.

The procedure is painless. There's pressure on your ears at the start, much like you feel in an aircraft cabin. It gets a little warmer as the decent period starts (about 10 minuets) but soon you are at the proper depth for 60 to 90 minutes of pure oxygen, and then comes the ascent period when the air gets cooler. All of the time the patient is in constant touch with the technician at the controls.

Thill, 40, is a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist with a wall full of certificates testifying to her skills. She and the majority of the Thill family (only 16 year old Zachary doesn't have Lyme disease), have an emotional and vested interest in the war against the disease.

HBOT is not a cure-all. It's a fairly new tool in medical treatment, and like other newly applied treatments in health, processes in Europe, Japan, and China in the use of HBOT has out-stripped progress in the United States.

"I feel I need to shout this from the rooftops," said Thill. "The process dates back to the 16th century. It's been used for years to rescue sailors from sunken Submarines. THe techniques here have furnished many of the current HBOT guidelines.

"We are just a hard working, blue collar family from Sebastopol that happens to be afflicted with Lyme disease. I want to do things here in the clinic just like they do in hospitals. It's not a total cure but the improvements generated are quite visible".

Thill urges the use of long sleeved shirts, buttoned collars, and protective socks for wear in tick country such as Sonoma and Marin counties.

"Mendocino County is the capitol of Lyme disease on the West Coast just like Connecticut is on the East Coast". said Thill. "And just to make sure, we don't go camping anymore."