New sleep center open

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The Island Hospital Sleep Disorders Center is now seeing patients at its brand-new, specially designed facility at 1110 22nd Street (between N and O avenues). 

Super-insulated for sound control, the new facility holds a reception area, two exam rooms, four patient rooms (designed for comfort and relaxation, each with its own private bath, fully adjustable bed for comfort and satellite television), a kitchen that includes a refrigerator dedicated for patient use, and a dedicated monitoring room (where the technologists monitor studies and analyze the data utilizing new, state-of-the-art equipment).
 
“We are now able to both expand our services and provide patients with greater comfort and convenience,” said Sleep Disorders Center Supervisor Erika Corier, RPSGT. “Our patients are very happy about the larger rooms and especially appreciate having private bathrooms that allow them to transition to or from work without disrupting their normal routines.”
 
Currently averaging 18 sleep studies per week, the SDC is designed to accommodate more as the public becomes increasingly aware of the important role sleep plays in our health and sense of well-being.
 
The discovery of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, in 1953, sparked the modern field of sleep medicine and has led to the recognition and treatment of 84 distinctive disorders of sleep and the sleep/wake cycle.
 
“We are extremely fortunate to have the services of exceptional sleep specialist Francisco Vega MD, PhD, who has the experience needed to treat even the most complex disorders,” Corier said.
 
Long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disturbances can include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, heart attack, stroke and an increased risk of developing dementia or Parkinson's disease. Sleep deprivation had disastrous consequences in the Exxon Valdez, Three Mile Island and Space Shuttle Challenger disasters. Additionally, driver sleepiness is related to one in five serious, sometimes fatal, car-crash injuries.
 
“Anyone can develop a sleep disorder,” Corier said, “and not recognize the symptoms nor understand the full effect the disorder has on their day-to-day lives. Treatment can improve their overall health, mood and quality of life. Proper sleep hygiene and other treatments can restore quality sleep.”
 
Island Hospital will build a new two-story medical office building on the site of the old sleep center, on M Ave.