Foothills Medical Centre / Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre
HospitalCalgary, AB
CAL
Hospital Only
1 facility
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Calgary
Alberta. The Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre operates Calgary's HBOT programme, Alberta Health-covered for recognised conditions.
Quick Answer
In short, HBOT in Calgary: Calgary has one hyperbaric oxygen therapy facility: the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre (part of Alberta Health Services). The programme provides Alberta Health-covered HBOT with 24/7 emergency capability for recognised indications including carbon monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness, delayed radiation injury, and diabetic foot ulcers. HBOT at Foothills is fully covered with a physician referral; no private HBOT facility currently operates in Calgary.
Key facts at a glance
| City | Calgary, Alberta |
|---|---|
| Facilities | 1 (1 hospital, 0 private) |
| Provincial plan | AHS |
| Coverage | Covers recognised indications |
| Typical wait | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Emergency | 24/7 at Foothills |
| Private cost | No private HBOT in Calgary |
| Last updated |
Facilities
1
1 hospital · 0 private
Provincial Plan
AHS
Covers recognised indications
Typical Wait
4 to 10 weeks
For elective indications
Emergency
24/7 at Foothills
CO, air embolism, DCS
HBOT Facilities in Calgary
Alberta Health covers HBOT at the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre / Foothills for all AHS-recognised indications. Physician referral required. Billing code 13.99I covers physician-supervised HBOT in Alberta.
Independent directory, no paid placements
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Hospital Programmes, Provincial Coverage Available
How Much Does HBOT Cost in Calgary?
Alberta Health covers HBOT at the Foothills hyperbaric programme for recognised indications at no out-of-pocket cost with a physician referral. Calgary does not currently have a private HBOT clinic within city limits; patients seeking private HBOT travel to Edmonton or out of province.
For an AHS-covered indication
$0 with physician referral
Fully covered with physician referral. Treatment is delivered at the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre hyperbaric unit within the Foothills Medical Centre campus.
Private-pay option
No private HBOT in Calgary
Some facilities offer private-pay HBOT, typically for conditions outside the recognised indications list or for patients preferring faster scheduling. The nearest private HBOT clinic is in Edmonton (about 3 hours by car). Private sessions at Alberta private clinics typically cost $200 to $350.
Note: AHS-covered HBOT includes all treatment costs; parking and accommodation for out-of-region patients are the patient's responsibility. Alberta Health Link (811) can assist with coordination.
For Patients
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy cost in Canada: all provinces and cities
Full per-province table, package discounts, what affects price, extended health insurance, and source-traced canonical numbers.
See cost reference
How to Get a Referral for HBOT in Calgary
For Alberta Health-covered treatment, obtain a referral from your family physician or specialist to the hyperbaric programme at the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre (part of Foothills Medical Centre).
- 1 Confirm your condition is an AHS-recognised HBOT indication (radiation injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, diabetic foot ulcer, necrotizing soft tissue infection, decompression sickness, and similar).
- 2 Ask your family physician, oncologist, or specialist for a referral to the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre hyperbaric unit at Foothills Medical Centre.
- 3 The AHS team triages referrals by clinical urgency. Emergency indications like carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness are treated immediately without prior referral.
- 4 For elective indications, expect an initial assessment before treatment begins. Wait times range from about 4 to 10 weeks.
- 5 If the wait is prohibitive or your indication is off the AHS list, the nearest private option is in Edmonton or out of province. Contact details are on that city's facility list.
Emergency HBOT Access in Calgary
Time-critical hyperbaric indications in Calgary, including carbon monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness, gas embolism, and necrotizing soft tissue infections, are treated as emergencies at Foothills Medical Centre.
Call 911 for any suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, diving accident, or gas embolism. Alberta Health Services EMS will transport to Foothills Medical Centre, which operates Alberta's southern 24/7 hyperbaric medicine capability. For inter-facility transfers, physicians coordinate through the RAAPID (Referral, Access, Advice, Placement, Information and Destination) line. Alberta Health Link (811) can route non-emergency hyperbaric questions.
Getting There & Accessibility
Transit, parking, and drop-off details for each facility.
Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre / Foothills Medical Centre
3395 Hospital Drive NW, northwest Calgary. Calgary Transit buses from downtown serve the Foothills Medical Centre campus. Paid patient parking on site; accessible drop-off at the main entrance.
Conditions Commonly Treated
Foothills treats all AHS-recognised indications including decompression sickness (divers from the BC coast and northern Alberta lakes), carbon monoxide poisoning, necrotizing soft tissue infections, and delayed radiation injury from cancer treatment at the Cancer Centre. Alberta's oil and gas industry contributes occasional crush injury and chemical exposure cases.
Health Canada-recognised conditions covered in Calgary
Air or Gas Embolism, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Gas Gangrene, Crush Injury, Compartment Syndrome & Acute Traumatic Ischaemia, Decompression Sickness, Enhancement of Healing in Selected Problem Wounds, Exceptional Blood Loss (Anaemia), Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections, Chronic Osteomyelitis, Soft Tissue Radiation Necrosis, Radiation Damage Affecting Bone, Compromised Skin Grafts & Flaps, Thermal Burns, Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
Local Research Connection
Foothills Medical Centre is a University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine teaching hospital and hosts one of Alberta's hospital hyperbaric programmes.
Local Context
Foothills Medical Centre is Alberta's southern tertiary referral hospital and houses the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre, which treats patients from southern Alberta, southeastern BC, and southern Saskatchewan. The hyperbaric programme at the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre serves both the cancer-survivorship population with delayed radiation injury and the broader emergency indication caseload from a city with active diving, industrial, and recreational incidents.
Recent research relevant to Calgary referrals
Latest HBOT evidence in the conditions most commonly treated in Calgary
Curated weekly from our database of 14,509+ peer-reviewed studies, weighted toward Canadian-affiliated research and the condition referral patterns served in Calgary.
2025 ·Nitric oxide : biology and chemistry ·Canadian-affiliated
Exploring medical gas therapy in hemorrhagic stroke treatment: A narrative review.
Read summary →
2018 ·Intensive Care Med Exp ·Canadian-affiliated
Alterations in mitochondrial respiration and reactive oxygen species in patients poisoned with carbon monoxide treated with hyperbaric oxygen
Read summary →
2013 ·BMC anesthesiology ·Canadian-affiliated
Hemodynamic profiles of intubated and mechanically ventilated carbon monoxide-poisoned patients during systemic hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Read summary →
2011 ·Exp Physiol ·Canadian-affiliated
Rapid elimination of CO through the lungs: coming full circle 100 years on
Read summary →
1999 ·Environ Health Perspect ·Canadian-affiliated
An unusual case of carbon monoxide poisoning
Read summary →
Patient logistics · Calgary
Approximate drive times to HBOT facilities from Calgary
Off-peak driving estimates. Treatment courses typically run 4 to 12 weeks of near-daily attendance, so a realistic round-trip estimate matters when planning.
Downtown → Foothills Medical Centre
12min
6 km · Crowchild Trail
Mahogany → Foothills Medical Centre
35min
26 km · Deerfoot Trail north
Brentwood → Foothills Medical Centre
10min
4 km · 16th Avenue
Estimates only. Confirm via your preferred routing service before travel.
Local referral pathways · Calgary
Where Calgary clinicians refer patients for HBOT
Most HBOT referrals start with a specialist who first identifies the underlying condition. The institutions below are local entry points patients in Calgary commonly pass through before reaching a hyperbaric programme.
Audiology & ENT
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (14-day HBOT window)
AHS Community Audiology at Foothills Medical Centre
1403 29 St NW, Health Services Building Area 5B, Calgary, AB T2N 2T9 · 403-955-8500
AHS Calgary Zone audiology clinic co-located with the Foothills campus; sudden sensorineural hearing loss cases that fail steroid therapy are referred within the same campus to the Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit for adjunctive HBOT. Referrals are accepted from physicians, audiologists, and SLPs via Connect Care or fax 403-955-8501.
Verified 2026-05-30
AHS Community Audiology at Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre
1820 Richmond Rd SW, Calgary, AB T2T 5C7 · 403-955-8500
Second AHS Calgary Zone audiology site offering hearing assessment, vestibular testing, and cochlear implant evaluation. Patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss who fail first-line treatment are candidates for HBOT at the Foothills Medical Centre Hyperbaric Medicine Unit.
Verified 2026-05-30
AHS ENT Surgical Outpatient Clinic at South Health Campus
4448 Front Street SE, 7th Floor, Calgary, AB T3M 1M4 · 403-956-3770
AHS Calgary Zone ENT surgical outpatient clinic serving southeast Calgary. Otolaryngologists managing sudden sensorineural hearing loss with incomplete recovery refer patients to the Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit, the recognised adjunct-therapy pathway within the AHS Calgary Zone. Physician referral required.
Verified 2026-05-30
Oncology & Cancer Centres
Delayed radiation injury referrals
Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre
3395 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 5G2 · 587-231-3100
Opened October 2024 as southern Alberta's primary comprehensive cancer centre on the Foothills Medical Centre campus, replacing the legacy Tom Baker Cancer Centre. Radiation oncology teams treating head, neck, and soft-tissue tumours refer patients with delayed radiation injury, including radiation cystitis, osteoradionecrosis, and soft-tissue radionecrosis, to the co-campus Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit for AHS-funded HBOT.
Verified 2026-05-30
Tom Baker Cancer Centre Legacy Site
1331 29 St NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N2 · 403-521-3723
The legacy Calgary cancer centre at the Foothills campus. Primary clinical services transitioned to the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre in October 2024, though the building retains some AHS functions. Historically the main radiation oncology referral source for HBOT treatment of delayed radiation tissue injury; the Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit is a short walk across campus.
Verified 2026-05-30
Wound Care Programs
Diabetic foot ulcers & non-healing wounds
Zivot Limb Preservation Clinic at Peter Lougheed Centre
3500 26 Avenue NE, 5th Floor (east end), Calgary, AB T1Y 6J4 · 403-943-6400
AHS Calgary Zone multidisciplinary limb-preservation service managing diabetic foot ulcers, chronic wounds, gangrene, and Charcot foot in coordination with vascular surgery, infectious disease, and wound-care nursing. Complex non-healing diabetic or ischaemic wounds that fail standard care are referred to the Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit for HBOT under the AHS Calgary Zone pathway.
Verified 2026-05-30
AHS Allied Health Wound Care Clinic at South Health Campus
4448 Front Street SE, Room 110053, Calgary, AB T3M 1M4 · 403-956-2910
AHS Calgary Zone wound-care programme offering complex wound management including sharp debridement and compression therapy for patients 18 and over. Wounds unresponsive to standard care, including venous, diabetic, and post-surgical wounds, are referred to the Foothills Hyperbaric Medicine Unit for adjunctive HBOT.
Verified 2026-05-30
Independent directory. No paid placements. Listings are for navigation only; confirm current details with each institution directly.
Nearest Alternatives to Calgary
Misericordia Community Hospital
Edmonton, AB · 3 hours north by car
Alberta's other AHS hospital hyperbaric programme. 24/7 emergency.
Canora Medical & Hyperbaric Clinic
Edmonton, AB · 3 hours north by car
Nearest private HBOT option in Alberta. Broader indication acceptance.
Vancouver General Hospital
Vancouver, BC · Via interprovincial referral
MSP-covered in BC. Used for complex cases where BC-AB coordination is clinically indicated.
Frequently Asked Questions, HBOT in Calgary
Does Alberta Health cover HBOT in Calgary?
Yes. Alberta Health covers HBOT at the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre for all AHS-recognised indications. Billing code 13.99I covers physician-supervised HBOT in Alberta. A physician referral is required.
How much does HBOT cost in Calgary?
HBOT is free at the Foothills programme if you have an AHS-covered indication and a physician referral. There is no private HBOT clinic within Calgary city limits; patients seeking private HBOT typically travel to Edmonton, where sessions cost $200 to $350.
How do I get a referral for HBOT in Calgary?
Ask your family physician, oncologist, or specialist for a referral to the Arthur J.E. Child Cancer Centre hyperbaric programme. Urgent cases such as carbon monoxide poisoning or decompression sickness proceed as emergencies through the emergency department without requiring prior referral.
How long is the wait for HBOT at Foothills?
Emergency indications are treated immediately. For elective indications, expect an initial assessment appointment before treatment begins. Wait times at the Foothills hyperbaric programme typically range from 4 to 10 weeks depending on clinical urgency.
Are there private HBOT clinics in Calgary?
No. Calgary does not currently have a private HBOT clinic. The nearest private options are in Edmonton, about 3 hours north by car.
Is HBOT covered in Alberta for chronic TBI or post-concussion syndrome?
No. Chronic TBI, post-concussion syndrome, and late-stage stroke recovery are not on the AHS-recognised list for HBOT. Patients seeking HBOT for these conditions need to self-fund at a private Alberta clinic in Edmonton, or travel out of province. Research evidence for HBOT on chronic TBI is mixed.
Where do divers from Alberta go for decompression sickness?
Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary and Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton both have 24/7 hyperbaric capability for decompression sickness. Most Alberta diving is in mountain lakes or recreational cave diving. Always call 911 first; AHS EMS will coordinate transport.
Can Saskatchewan or BC patients be referred to Calgary?
Yes, through interprovincial referral arrangements. Calgary's Foothills programme receives out-of-province patients when clinically appropriate. Referring physicians coordinate through the RAAPID line.
What is the difference between mild hyperbaric chambers and clinical-grade HBOT in Calgary?
Clinical-grade hyperbaric oxygen therapy delivers 100 per cent oxygen at 2.0 to 2.8 ATA inside a Health Canada-licensed chamber. "Mild" or "soft" hyperbaric chambers (sometimes called "oxygen bars" or "recreational chambers") operate at 1.3 ATA or less, sometimes with ambient air rather than concentrated oxygen, and are not Health Canada-licensed for the 14 recognised clinical indications. The clinical evidence base for HBOT references pressures of 2.0 ATA and above; lower-pressure protocols do not produce the same dissolved-oxygen physiology. Provincial health plans cover treatment only at hospital programmes operating clinical-grade chambers; private clinics in Calgary should disclose their chamber type and operating pressure on request.
How long are hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions in Calgary?
A standard HBOT session at clinics and hospital programmes serving Calgary lasts 90 to 120 minutes door-to-door: roughly 10 to 15 minutes for compression to treatment depth (typically 2.0 to 2.8 ATA), 60 to 90 minutes at treatment pressure, and 10 to 15 minutes for decompression. Patients change into chamber-safe cotton clothing, remove all electronics and oils or lotions, and either lie down in a monoplace chamber or sit in a multiplace chamber. Most chronic-condition courses run 20 to 40 sessions delivered daily or near-daily over 4 to 8 weeks; emergency indications use shorter, time-critical protocols.
What to expect at your first HBOT appointment in Calgary
An HBOT session takes 90 to 120 minutes door-to-door at 2.0 to 2.4 ATA, with a standard treatment course of 20 to 60 daily weekday sessions. For the full session walkthrough, preparation checklist (what to wear, what to avoid before treatment), common side effects, chamber-type differences, and contraindications, see our What to expect from HBOT guide.
Travelling to Calgary for HBOT
A standard HBOT course runs 20 to 40 sessions over 4 to 12 weeks. For provincial medical travel grants (including the Northern Health Travel Grant, MTAP, and territorial programmes), Veterans Affairs Canada coverage, interprovincial reciprocal billing rules, and patient accommodation guidance specific to Alberta, see our Canadian medical travel guide for HBOT patients.
HBOT in other Alberta cities
About this page
This page is maintained by the Canada Hyperbarics Research Team, an independent resource for HBOT information in Canada. We accept no paid placements or sponsorship. Content is drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the editorial team before publication. See our full editorial policy for sourcing standards (Health Canada MDALL, CUHMA, UHMS 15th Edition, PubMed) and the AI-assist disclosure.