The Jackson County Memorial Hospital Sleep Lab is moving to a new location on the hospital campus.  According to Trent Pierce, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services, “ The new JCMH Sleep Lab is moving to 1200 E. Maple, a beautifully remodeled house right behind the main hospital building.”  The JCMH Sleep Lab will employ three technicians and will have the ability to conduct two sleep studies per night.  The lab will operate seven nights a week and eventually have the capacity to offer daytime sleep studies as well.”

A special ribbon cutting and open house is scheduled for Thursday, September 20, at 2 p.m. at the new location.  The JCMH Cardio-pulmonary department hosts the event, which is the department that supervises The JCMH Sleep Lab.

”The current sleep lab is small and clinical feeling,” stated Carlos Mendoza, Director of JCMH Cardio-pulmonary Services.  “By moving the sleep lab into a house, it feels like a five-star hotel and allows for better comfort for the patient as well as an enhanced environment for the sleep lab staff.” 

The hospital’s carpenters redesigned and crafted the 1400 square foot house to be handicap accessible and constructed updated, modern bedrooms, bathrooms and living area.  Amanda Reimer, Senior Marketing Specialist, appointed the sleep lab with top of the line furnishings for patients’ comfort and appeal.

“It’s important for patients to be comfortable as they undergo the sleep study,” explained Mendoza.  “The study is essential to reveal the cause of a patient’s interrupted or disturbed sleep.”  “We’ve learned the importance of sleep habits and how treatment dramatically resolves many sleep symptoms.”

The symptoms of sleep apnea, the general term for sleep disorders, are brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.  Nearly 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, according to the National Institute of Health.  Other symptoms are excessive daytime fatigue, snoring, falling asleep easily and sometimes at inappropriate places or times.

Untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, headaches, depression, car accidents and job impairment.

What to expect.
A sleep study is an overnight procedure inside the JCMH Sleep Lab.  Electrodes are connected to the patient’s head and chest to measure brain waves, eye and chin movement, stages of sleep and heart rate and rhythm.  A chest band measures breathing movement and additional monitors measure oxygen levels as well as leg movements.  The monitors are not painful and no needles are involved in the sleep study.  JCMH Sleep Lab staff accommodates a parent staying overnight with a child who is having a sleep study performed.

The following morning, electrodes and monitors are removed and the patient is discharged to return to his or her regular daily duties.  Dr. Roy Goddard reviews and interprets each sleep study and prepares a customized treatment plan for each patient, depending on the outcome of the study.  Dr. Goddard sends a detailed report to the patient’s primary care physician.

“During the last three years, our patients have given us quite a bit of feedback about their sleep study experience,” stated Trent Pierce, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services.  “This is a case of the community speaking and JCMH responding.  We can now begin a new era of service to those in need of Sleep Studies that will further enhance the care offered locally in our community”.

JCMH Sleep Lab staff, in addition to Mendoza, are Lorrie Gipson, Assistant Director of Cardiopulmonary, Veronica Lara, Tara Block, and Arati Garrison.

The Jackson County Memorial Hospital Sleep Lab is located at 1200 E. Maple, directly behind the JCMH main building.  A physician’s prescription is required for a sleep study.  To learn more, call the JCMH Sleep Lab at 482-4781 extension 2561.