MARLETTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL SLEEP LAB EARNS ACCREDITATION
Picture left to right Sherry Turner, Terry Gallagher, and Katrina Pandrea Moorehead.
MARLETTE, MI - Marlette Regional Hospital Sleep Lab is one of only 37 Sleep Centers in Michigan to receive Accreditation through the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). The accreditation process involves following strict standards set by the AASM to provide the highest level of quality care to customers who include the patient, physicians, and home care companies. A thorough detailed inspection by a Sleep Specialist Physician, Board Certified in Sleep Medicine was conducted.
Marlette Regional Hospital’s Sleep Lab performs sleep studies on patients with breathing disorders during sleep. These disorders include sleep apnea (cessation of breathing during sleep), hypopnea (slow and shallow breathing), and nocturnal oxygen desaturation (decrease in oxygen level during sleep). Patients who have an average of five or more apnea’s and/or hypopnea’s every hour during sleep are considered to have sleep apnea. There are three types of sleep apnea, obstructive, central, and mixed sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea, which is the most common is caused by an obstruction blocking the air from getting in and out of the lungs even though efforts to breathe continue. This is most generally caused by the tongue or soft tissue in the throat. Central sleep apnea is caused by the brain failing to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respiration. Mixed apnea is a combination of obstructive and central apnea. Patients with sleep apnea may experience daytime fatigue, headaches, depression, irritability/short temper, sexual dysfunctions, learning dysfunction, memory loss, falling asleep while at work, on the phone or driving and difficulty concentrating. People with sleep apnea are more likely to have other health problems such as irregular heart beats, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke if not treated. Sleep apnea kills over 38,000 people each year, according to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research.
Marlette Regional Hospital Sleep Lab staff includes; Terry Gallagher, Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT), a 14-year employee at Marlette Regional Hospital. Sherry Turner, Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT), a 10-year employee at Marlette Regional Hospital. Katrina Pandrea Moorehead, Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT) and Manager of the Sleep Lab with 28 years of employment at Marlette Regional Hospital.
Marlette Regional Hospital Sleep Lab opened on January 20, 1998 with one bed and one full time technologist. In October 2002, the sleep lab added a second bed and an additional full time technologist. Today, more than 160 physicians have referred their patients to the Marlette Regional Hospital Sleep Lab. Marlette Regional Hospital Sleep Lab is committed to providing the highest standards of care for its patients through the latest technologies in equipment, education for the sleep technologists and maintaining accreditation status through the AASM.
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