#TLDR
- OxygenWell accepts VA Community Care for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) at our Sherman Oaks and Calabasas centers when your VA authorization covers the care.
- Community Care is care with an approved non-VA provider. You need a VA referral and authorization before we can schedule covered sessions.
- HBOT is most often used for recognized medical indications such as certain wounds, delayed radiation injury, crush injury and acute traumatic ischemia, compromised grafts or flaps, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other UHMS-listed pathways when clinically appropriate.
- Veterans and VA care teams: call (818) 661-0939 or visit oxygenwell.com/contact once you have (or are working on) a Community Care referral.
OxygenWell accepts VA Community Care for hyperbaric medicine. Eligible Veterans in the Los Angeles area can receive medical-grade HBOT at our Sherman Oaks and Calabasas locations when the Department of Veterans Affairs authorizes that care in the community.
This page explains what Community Care is, how referrals work, which kinds of hyperbaric pathways Veterans often discuss with their care teams, and how to start with OxygenWell. It is educational. It is not a guarantee of VA approval, payment, or clinical outcome. Your VA health care team decides eligibility and what your authorization covers.
What is VA Community Care?
VA Community Care lets eligible Veterans receive care from approved non-VA medical providers when VA cannot provide the care needed in the way the program requires. Availability depends on specific eligibility rules, VA capacity, and the Veteran’s individual needs and circumstances. Local VA facilities describe Community Care as a path to local care through approved community providers, with prior approval from VA required before you obtain that care. See, for example, how VA Houston Health Care explains Community Care (the same national program framework applies across VA; always confirm details with your own VA facility).
In plain terms: if you are enrolled in VA health care and your team authorizes hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the community, you may be able to complete those sessions at a community hyperbaric center such as OxygenWell instead of only inside a VA facility.
How to get a Community Care referral and authorization
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publishes a clear process for in-network community providers. According to VA.gov: How to get community care referrals and schedule appointments (updated September 11, 2025):
- Find an in-network community provider (or ask your VA team to help you find one). If you cannot find an in-network provider who meets your needs, or the provider you want is not in network, ask your VA team for help.
- Get a referral from your VA health care team. VA reviews eligibility, contacts you to confirm you want community care and what appointment type you need, then prepares the referral. VA states this part of the process can take up to 14 days.
- Schedule your appointment after you have the referral. You can schedule yourself or ask VA to schedule. If you schedule yourself, tell your VA team within 14 days so they can update your chart and work with the community provider.
- Keep your authorization letter. After you schedule, VA sends an authorization letter. That letter is your approval for community care. It typically includes an authorization number, information about the approved provider, a description of the care you can get, and how long you can continue without another referral.
- Go to your appointment and bring any images (CT, MRI, etc.) the provider asks for. VA may share records with the community provider; still bring what you are asked to bring.
- Track ongoing care. If VA approves continued care, you can schedule follow-ups, but stay within the number of visits and time window on the authorization. VA will not cover services outside what the letter includes. You or the community provider can request a new referral if more care is needed.
Important: Do not assume you can walk in for VA-covered HBOT without a referral and authorization. Start with your VA health care team or Community Care office.
Why Veterans are referred for hyperbaric oxygen therapy
HBOT delivers high concentrations of oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure so more oxygen dissolves in the blood plasma and reaches injured or poorly perfused tissue. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes HBOT is used for conditions such as carbon monoxide poisoning, certain serious infections, non-healing wounds, crush injuries, compromised skin grafts and flaps, delayed radiation injury, and other approved indications. Medicare and many insurers generally cover HBOT for listed conditions when criteria are met; coverage still depends on the plan and pre-authorization rules.
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) publishes the standard list of hyperbaric indications used across U.S. medical practice. Pathways that often matter for Veterans include (when clinically appropriate and authorized):
- Diabetic and other selected non-healing wounds
- Delayed radiation injury (soft tissue and bone)
- Crush injury, compartment syndrome, and other acute traumatic ischemias
- Compromised skin grafts and flaps
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Refractory osteomyelitis
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections (as an adjunct to surgery and antibiotics)
- Sudden sensorineural hearing loss and central retinal artery occlusion in time-sensitive cases
- Thermal burns and other UHMS-listed indications when the care team directs HBOT
You can also read our clinical overview of HBOT for crush injury and acute traumatic ischemia and our page on insurance and coverage.
PTSD, TBI, and off-label questions
Many Veterans ask about HBOT for post-traumatic stress, concussion, or traumatic brain injury. Those uses are often discussed in research and advocacy settings. They are not the same as routine on-label wound or radiation pathways.
In 2017, VA announced a limited clinical demonstration offering HBOT to a small number of Veterans with persistent PTSD symptoms that had not improved after at least two evidence-based treatments, and noted that PTSD use was considered off-label, with separate research planned. See the VA press release on HBOT for some Veterans with chronic PTSD. That announcement does not mean every Veteran automatically receives Community Care authorization for PTSD- or TBI-focused HBOT today.
At OxygenWell we are direct: if your goal is an off-label neurologic or mental health pathway, we coordinate with your VA and civilian clinicians, set honest expectations, and follow whatever your current authorization actually covers. We do not promise VA approval for off-label care.
How HBOT works at OxygenWell
Patients rest in a monoplace hard-shell chamber and breathe 100% medical-grade oxygen through a non-rebreather mask. Protocols may use pressures up to 2.4 ATA, depending on the indication. Sessions are run by CHT and EMT-trained technicians, with a PA on site most weekday hours.
Locations
- Sherman Oaks: 15301 Ventura Blvd., Suite P-12, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 (Sherman Oaks Galleria)
- Calabasas: 23500 Park Sorrento, Suite A2, Calabasas, CA 91302
We are open seven days a week, including evenings, which helps Veterans who work, attend appointments at VA, or travel from across the West Valley and greater Los Angeles. Learn more about our Calabasas hyperbaric center.
How VA Community Care works with OxygenWell
- Talk with your VA team about whether HBOT is appropriate and whether Community Care is the right path.
- Request a referral that names hyperbaric oxygen therapy and, when possible, OxygenWell as the community provider (or ask VA to help you select an in-network option).
- Wait for VA review and your authorization letter. Keep the authorization number and the visit/date limits.
- Contact OxygenWell at (818) 661-0939 with your authorization details so we can verify coverage scope and schedule within the approved window.
- Complete intake with records, medication list, and any imaging your team wants us to review.
- Attend sessions as authorized. If you need more visits than the letter allows, we help request an extension or new referral through the proper VA channel.
If you also have Medicare, PPO, or other coverage, tell us. Some Veterans use traditional insurance for qualifying FDA-approved indications and Community Care for others. We help sort the paperwork; VA and the payer make the final coverage decisions.
For VA clinicians and care coordinators
OxygenWell welcomes Community Care referrals for medically appropriate hyperbaric pathways.
- Medical-grade monoplace chambers, up to 2.4 ATA, 100% oxygen via non-rebreather mask
- CHT / EMT-trained technical team; PA on site most weekday hours
- Two Los Angeles–area sites with evening and weekend access
- Documentation oriented to clinical care and authorization compliance
- Coordination phone: (818) 661-0939
Please include diagnosis, indication for HBOT, preferred site (Sherman Oaks or Calabasas), and authorization limits when you send the referral packet.
For Veterans and families
You do not need to master every VA form to take the next step. Start with your VA primary care team, specialist, or Community Care office and ask whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be authorized in the community. Then call us. Bring:
- VA authorization letter or referral number (when you have it)
- Your VA facility and care team contact
- Key diagnoses and recent procedure or wound history
- Medication list and known contraindications (for example certain lung or ear issues)
If you are in crisis, contact the Veterans Crisis Line: call 988 then press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.
Safety and expectations
HBOT is generally well tolerated. Ear pressure during compression is the most common annoyance. People with untreated pneumothorax or certain acute illnesses may not be candidates. Intake screens for safety issues.
Results depend on the condition, timing, concurrent treatments, and overall health. Authorization length and visit counts are set by VA, not by OxygenWell. We focus on appropriate care inside the authorization you receive.
Start VA Community Care hyperbaric therapy
OxygenWell accepts VA Community Care for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Sherman Oaks and Calabasas when your VA referral and authorization cover that care.
Call (818) 661-0939
Request a consult: www.oxygenwell.com/contact
Web: www.oxygenwell.com
Open 7 days · Sherman Oaks and Calabasas