DEPARTMENT OF ANESTHESIOLOGY ANNUAL REPORT

DIVERS ALERT
NETWORK
Peter B. Bennett, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Founder, President and CEO,
Divers Alert Network
Senior Director, Hyperbaric
Center
Professor of Anesthesiology
Vice Presidents
Christopher C. Bennett, M.B.A.
Vice President of Finance and CFO
William H. Clendenen, M.B.A.
Vice President of Training
Joel A. Dovenbarger, RN
Vice President of Medical Services
Cindi C. Easterling, M.Ed.
Vice President of Continuing Medical
Education
Donna Heath, B.S., M.S.
Vice President of Information
Technology
Richard E. Moon, M.D., C.M., M.Sc.,
FRCP(C), FACP, FCCP
Vice President and Medical Director
Daniel L. Orr, B.S., M.S.
Executive Vice President and COO
Webb L. Roberts, M.B.A.
Vice President of Operations
Barry K. Shuster, M.B.A.
Vice President of Marketing
Richard D. Vann, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research
Christopher J. Wachholz, M.B.A.
Vice President of International DAN
DIVERS ALERT NETWORK
Directors
Cindi M. Courter, B.F.A., M.A.
Chief Development Officer
Guy deLisle Dear, M.B., FRCA
Assistant Medical Director
Petar J. Denoble, M.D., D.Sc.
Senior Research Director
Deborah A. Williams
Membership Director
Bryant W. Stolp, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Medical Director
Edward D. Thalmann, M.D.
Assistant Medical Director
Renee D. Westerfield, B.A.
Communications Director
The Divers Alert Network (DAN) is
an international 501(c)3 non profit
diving safety association affiliated with
the Department of Anesthesiology
and Duke Medical Center. Dr. Peter
Bennett, President and CEO, initiated
DAN in 1980 as a 24-hour emergency
hotline for recreational diving accidents
in the United States and the Caribbean
with grants from NOAA and NIOSH. In
1983 as grants decreased, membership
support was instituted. Today DAN is
supported by 200,000 members and
is growing steadily with a present support
staff of 70 and a budget of over
$13 million. The hotline in 2000, as of
September, received 2,312 emergency
calls, 9,551 information calls and 2,382
e-mails.
DAN exists to provide expert medical
information and advice for the benefit
of the diving public. Its historical
and primary function is to provide
emergency medical information and
assistance for underwater diving accidents,
prevent accidents and promote
diving safety. DAN promotes and supports
underwater diving research and
education particularly as it relates to the
improvement of diving safety, medical
treatment and first aid. DAN strives to
provide the most accurate, up to date
and unbiased information on issues of
common concern to the diving public,
primarily, but not exclusively, for diving
safety.
DAN publishes a bimonthly magazine,
Alert Diver, which updates
research and specialized information to
improve diver safety. From January
2001 it will be published monthly.
Other publications include the DAN
Sponsorship News, membership services
brochures, a DAN Pocket Guide
to First Aid for Scuba Diving and a new
Annual Report.
In 1991, DAN initiated its Oxygen
Program with specialized courses and
developed its own emergency oxygen
equipment vital for delivering oxygen to
a diving accident victim. As of October
1, 2000 over 9,443 qualified Oxygen
Instructors can be found in 88 countries
with 85,623 oxygen providers trained.
DAN Research is supported at a
level of $500,000 with projects carried
out at the Hyperbaric Center. Projects
in analysis or reporting include studies
of: (a) the effects of time to flying after
diving on the risk of decompression
illness; (b) the probability of Dopplerdetected
venous gas bubbles during
real dives to assess the effects of age,
gender, and maximum dive depths; and
(c) the risks of diving with diabetes by
insulin-dependent diabetics. Active
data collection is in progress for: (1)
evaluating ascent rates after diving
at the hyperbaric chamber of Duke
Medical Center; and (2) Project Dive
Exploration (PDE), a long range epidemiology
study with the goal of collecting
computer recorded dive profiles
and injury information from open water
divers. A Dive Computer Identification
Program has been established to single
out dive computer manufacturers
whose instruments are compatible with
PDE. Project Dive Exploration is particularly
interested in attracting older
divers for a study of the Aging Diver.
Volunteer divers can be trained as Field
Research Coordinators (FRC) to collect
data for PDE. In 2000, a summer internship
program began during which four
students were trained as FRCs and provided
experience in diving research.
The internship is presently being
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