Randal McCloy is being transferred this afternoon from West Virginia University Hospitals to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

“Mr. McCloy’s organ systems have responded fairly well to the treatment he has received over the last 36 hours at WVUH ,”said Larry Roberts, M.D., director of the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center at WVU .”His left lung is no longer collapsed. But we have not seen the neurological improvement we would like to see. In consultation with our medical team and experts at other centers, we have determined that hyperbaric oxygen treatment may help his ultimate neurologic recovery, and he is now sufficiently stable to be transported.

Allegheny’s dual-chamber hyperbaric unitthe only type that can accommodate a patient with a breathing tubeis the closest one to Morgantown. WVU physicians consulted with their medical team to insure that he continues to receive the best treatment.

McCloy’s family was informed of this option this afternoon, and they decided to pursue it. They are aware that there is some risk in subjecting Mr. McCloy to the stresses of transportation. Both the family and the WVU medical team believe he has recovered sufficiently to endure the trip.

McCloy remains in critical condition. He left the hospital by ambulance late this afternoon, accompanied by a medical team from WVU .