Sleep Services at Tomah Health has received program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). “Tomah Health Sleep Services is an important resource to the local medical community and will provide academic and scientific value in addition to the highest quality care for patients suffering from sleep disorders,” said Dr. Kelly A. Carden, AASM president. “The American Academy of Sleep Medicine congratulates Tomah Health Sleep Services on meeting the high standards required to earn accreditation as a sleep disorders center.”
To receive and maintain accreditation for a five-year period, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional health care as designated by the AASM. These standards address core areas such as personnel, facility and equipment, policies and procedures, data acquisition, patient care and quality assurance. Additionally, the sleep center’s goals must be clearly stated and include plans for positively affecting the quality of medical care in the community it serves.
Tomah Health began offering sleep services earlier this month on the third floor at Tomah Health, 501 Gopher Drive, Tomah. “It is exciting to add sleep medicine to our list of services offered to our friends and neighbors in the Tomah area,” said Sleep Services nurse Practitioner Kelly Thayer, FNP-C.
As part of the new department at Tomah Health, Sleep Services medical director Dr. Alexander Villareal, M.D., together with Thayer will collaborate to diagnose and treat sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Villareal is certified in Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He also a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea happens when a person’s airway becomes blocked during sleep. These blockages (apneas) can occur numerous times in a night and prevent the person from achieving healthy restful sleep. Thayer said people with untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea are at higher risk for stroke, heart attack, diabetes, depression, atrial fibrillation, work and traffic accidents.
Thayer said services available at Tomah Health include, overnight sleep studies, follow up and treatment, sleep consultations with sleep specialists, plus CPAP equipment and supplies which will be offered by a third party vendor.
“The first appointment with a sleep specialist, will be a consult where sleep habits and concerns will be discussed. If a sleep study is suggested by the provider, it will be ordered at that time and a follow-up appointment to discuss the results will be scheduled,” Thayer added. “We are looking forward to providing quality sleep services, close to home for area residents.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredited a sleep disorders center for the first time in 1977. Today there are more than 2,600 AASM-accredited sleep centers across the country. AASM is a professional medical society for clinicians, researchers, and other health care providers in the field of sleep medicine. As the national accrediting body for sleep disorders centers, the AASM improves sleep health and promotes high quality, patient-centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research and practice standards.
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