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Board of Directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dick Rutkowski - President
Mr. Rutkowski retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with 33 years of federal service. He served as Deputy Diving Coordinator. He was founder and director of the NOAA Diving/Hyperbaric Training and Diver Treatment Facility from 1973 to 1985 where hundreds of divers have been treated. He also served a co-director for the annual Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) physicians diving and hyperbaric medical training program for the past 21 years. Mr. Rutkowski also served as director of ESSA/NOAA Diver Training from 1965 until he retired. Upon retiring from federal service in 1985, Mr. Rutkowski formed Hyperbarics International, Inc. for the purpose of educating and consulting in the field of hyperbaric medicine, diving gasses and life support systems.

After retiring from NOAA, Mr. Rutkowski has continued the use his vast knowledge conducting training programs for agencies such as NOAA, US Navy, US Air Force, NASA, EPA, US Customs, Panama Canal Commission, various hospitals, commercial diving companies and foreign navies. Mr. Rutkowski is past president/vice president of the UHMS, Gulf Coast Chapter, founder of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers and co-founder of the American Nitrox Divers Association, International Board of Undersea Medicine, Hyperbarics International, Inc. Undersea Breathing Systems, and the Undersea Research Foundation. He also organized and founded diving safety organizations such as the Florida Underwater Council and Society of Diving Safety (Turks and Caicos Islands). In the early 1970’s Mr. Rutkowski taught the first diving accident management courses, including the importance of emergency oxygen use at the dive site for injured divers. At first this theory was widely criticized but now this concept has become the standard of care and is recommended by all diver certifying agencies and associations.

Mr. Rutkowski has written and lectured extensively on all form of diving life support systems, gases, undersea and hyperbaric medicine, and has installed over 18 hyperbaric facilities in hospitals and field locations. His ongoing training programs have taught thousand s of physicians, allied medical personnel, dive supervisors, and instructors, undersea and hyperbaric medicine including chamber operation. He has written and edited over 60 publications and training films including the NOAA Diving Manual. For his long dedicated service Dick Rutkowski has received many awards from noted organizations including NOAA, UHMS, DAN and National Association of Underwater Divers, Explorers Club, etc. In 1967 he also had a Glacier named after him by the US Board on Geographic Names and in 1995 he was elected to the Explorers Club as a Fellow.
Dick Rutkowski detailed Curriculum Vitae

Medical Director - Louis F. James, MD, MPH & TM, FACPM

Bachelor of Science with Honors in Zoology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 1957
Doctor of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, 1961
Rotating Internship, St. Mark’s Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, 1962
Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1971
Residency in Aerospace Medicine Phase II, USAF School of
Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, San Antonio, TX, 1972
UHMS Physician’s Course in Diving Medicine, Miami, FL, 1986
Medical Director, Diver’s Training Academy, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 1964
Certified in Aerospace Medicine by the American College of Preventive Medicine, 1974
Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, 1974
Colonel, USAF (Ret.), 1987
Acting Director, Hyperbaric Department, St Mary’s Hospital,
West Palm Beach, FL, 1988-1997
Co-Director, Hyperbaric Department, Mariner’s Hospital, Tavernier, FL, 1996-1999

Jeffrey Bertsch - Vice President/CFO
Jeff is currently owns and manages the consulting firm Healing Alternatives. He formerly served as the Program Director of Mariners Hospital’s Hyperbaric Department (part of Baptist Health South Florida) after six years at Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Instrumental in the development of the hyperbaric program at Mariners Hospital in the Florida Keys, Jeff has had to call upon all the skills he has developed throughout his career in diving and hyperbaric medicine. While at DAN his duties included providing assistance to divers on diving medical information and emergency calls, collecting data on dive accidents, writing articles and courses, producing multi-media presentations, and teaching dive accident management seminars. He was the co-author and developer of DAN's Oxygen Program and associate producer for DAN's educational videos.

Prior to going to DAN, Jeff worked at the Hyperbaric Medicine Department at Virginia Mason Medical Center, in his home town of Seattle, Washington. There he served as a hyperbaric chamber supervisor, medical attendant/advanced diver medic and DAN Northwest associate coordinator. He has logged several thousand hours of chamber time. He worked as an EMT and continuing education instructor for King County EMS in Washington State. Jeff owns Healing Alternatives, LLC, a company which provides consulting services to the diving and hyperbaric related organizations. www.jeffbertsch.com

Earl Shaw - Secretary
Earl Shaw recently retired as Program Director for the Department of EMS, Fire Science, Hazardous Materials, & Health Education at Wallace Community College in Dothan Alabama. Earl has over 25 years experience in EMS including 19 years in EMS education. He was recognized as EMS Educator of the Year for the state of Alabama in 1995 and was nominated as Junior College Educator of the Year in 1996. Earl is a Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Affiliate/Faculty Instructor. He is also a Basic Trauma Life Support and Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support National Affiliate Faculty. Earl also serves as a national testing representative for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.

Earl has been actively involved in diving since 1962 with a primary interest in public safety diving. He currently serves as Training Officer for the Dothan Police Department Dive Team and teaches recreational scuba diving through multiple agencies.

Earl owns Emergency Systems Educational Services (ESESC), a company which provides training in emergency services and develops programs and emergency plans. Through ESESC, Earl serves as an educational specialist for the State and National Emergency Management Agency. He has also developed and taught programs for McDermitt International Diving Division and the University of North Carolina National Undersea Research Center. ESESC also offers Diver Medical Technician training.

Earl is a member of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technologists, American Heart Association, National Association of EMS Educators, and Professional Association of Diving Instructors.