DAN remains committed to providing education and support
to divers. We can’t be everywhere, so we spent the year building
initiatives that allow us to interact with divers in real time, even if
we’re not in the same location. We launched the “virtual medic”
service at selected trade shows; the “virtual medic” enables
divers to call our medical information specialists directly via
videophone from our show booth. It proved very popular from
its debut. Members are also increasing their use of DAN’s real-
time webinar offerings, utilizing the program either to design
custom presentations for groups or simply to join in a discussion
already scheduled. (If you’re interested in scheduling a webinar
for your club or group, please call us at +1-919-684-2948.)
Our Research department has also been very active, focusing
efforts on building internal capacity. This year we formed our
own Institutional Review Board (IRB) and renovated part of our
headquarters building to create internal lab space. Previously
outsourced, we now have appropriate oversight of this critical
aspect of ethical research. In addition, the new lab space at DAN
enables unfettered access to facilities, enhances our capacity and
reduces the costs and time associated with using outside facilities.
We are excited about our research collaboration with the
University of Pennsylvania. In conjunction with our IDAN
partners, this effort is focused on microparticles — the leading
edge of decompression research. We also launched the
Member Health Survey. Some of you may have received this
hefty tool, which will help us understand the health issues of
the diving population and guide future research.
DAN has been on the road. This year we’ve given more
talks, presented at more scientific meetings and raised more
awareness of dive safety and dive medicine than ever before.
Every department has played a part is this effort to reach out
to the diving community. We have also been working hard to
expand our referral network so our members have an ever-
expanding resource pool of dive medicine physicians.
Finally, we worked to support the infrastructure of diver
care. Outreach is an important part of our mission. Through
the Recompression Chamber Assistance Program (RCAP)
we evaluated several chamber facilities and provided needed
education to underserved communities. The RCAP initiative
is truly an international effort done in conjunction with our
IDAN partners and represents our common goal of ensuring
safe facilities for the treatment of divers.
DAN’s vision is to make every dive accident- and injury-
free. We are excited about our new projects and enhanced
educational offerings, but we know we couldn’t do it without
your support. Thank you!
www.alertdiver.com
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www.DAN.org/equipment
EQUIPMENT
INsUrANcE
PrOTEcT
YOUr GEAr.
PrOTEcT
YOUr
MEMOrIEs.
• Flood coverage included
• No penalties for filing a claim
• Cash settlements
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