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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
assisted living; hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Purpose
Allows assisted living homes and assisted living centers (assisted living facilities) to offer mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to residents and outlines requirements and restrictions on HBOT use.
Background
HBOT is a
medical treatment in which an individual is placed in a hyperbaric chamber to
breathe 100 percent pure oxygen. In the chamber, the air pressure is raised to
a level higher than normal air pressure, which helps the lungs collect more
oxygen to heal tissue and fight certain infections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently recognizes HBOT as
an approved treatment for the following medical conditions: 1) air and
gas bubbles in blood vessels;
2) severe anemia; 3) severe and large burns; 4) carbon monoxide poisoning; 5)
crush injury;
6) decompression sickness; 7) gas gangrene; 8) sudden and complete
hearing loss; 9) infection of the skin and bone; 10) radiation injury; 11)
severe skin grafts 12) sudden and painless vision loss; and 13) non-healing
wounds (FDA).
In contrast to traditional HBOT, mild HBOT exposes the user to only 25 to 40
percent oxygen (NLM).
Assisted living facilities are residential care institutions, including adult foster care homes, that provide or contract to provide supervisory care services, personal care services or directed care services on a continuous basis. Assisted living facilities that provide resident rooms or residential units to 11 or more residents are known as assisted living centers, while those facilities that provide resident rooms or residential units to 10 or fewer residents are known as assisted living homes (A.R.S. § 36-401).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows assisted living facilities to offer mild HBOT to residents through a Class II mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber that:
a) has received premarket notification clearance for home use from the FDA;
b) is prescribed by or used under the direction of a physician; and
c) allows individuals to independently extricate themselves.
2. Requires assisted living facilities offering HBOT to ensure all HBOT provided is ordered by a physician and that a staff member who has received manufacturer-approved training is on-site any time a resident receives HBOT.
3. Requires assisted living facilities offering HBOT to provide notice to each resident receiving treatment that:
a) includes known information about contraindications and risks of HBOT;
b) recommends consultation with the resident's treating physician about any personal health risks; and
c) the device is FDA-approved to treat mild symptoms consistent with acute mountain sickness and that other use is considered off-label.
4. Prohibits an assisted living facility from offering HBOT to a resident requiring directed care services unless the HBOT is ordered by the resident's treating physician and the resident or an authorized representative provides informed consent.
5. Allows the Department of Health Services to adopt any necessary rules for the purposes of assisted living facility use of HBOT.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 14, 2026
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