Clarke County Hospital will be offering new in-home sleep apnea testing starting May 1st, 2018. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that 40 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders include trouble falling or staying asleep (insomnia), falling asleep at the wrong times (narcolepsy), too much sleep, or abnormal behaviors during sleep. One of the most common sleep disorders is sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is the delay or pause in breathing during regular sleep. This “breath pause” could last from a few seconds to minutes. People with sleep apnea generally awaken and still feel tired, no matter how much time they’ve spent in bed. Untreated sleep apnea increases the risks for serious health conditions over time: high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, obesity and diabetes.
Signs and symptoms for sleep apnea include excessive daytime sleepiness, or “feeling tired all the time”, loud snoring, abrupt awakenings with shortness of breath or gasps for air, chronically awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat, morning headaches, and chronic irritability.
To detect sleep apnea, a sleep study must be performed. In-home sleep apnea testing provides a practitioner with the information he or she needs to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. It allows you to undergo your sleep study at home wearing equipment that collects information about how you breathe during sleep.
Clarke County Hospital has received both hospital sleep study and home sleep study accreditation from the ACHC (Accreditation Commission for Health Care) Sleep Lab Accreditation. ACHC's sleep lab program was created specifically for freestanding and hospital based sleep labs and includes the clinical aspect of patient care focusing on the testing of a patient. Accreditation by ACHC reflects an organization's dedication and commitment to meeting standards that facilitate a higher level of performance and patient care.
How In-Home Sleep Study Works: Clarke County Hospital’s Sleep Lab Specialist will provide patients with the proper equipment and information they need to be able to administer their sleep study in the convenience of their home. Instructions will be given on how to correctly wear the equipment to ensure proper technique for accurate testing. Once a patient has completed the at home sleep test, their results will be sent to the practitioner who will determine the outcome of their test. Patients will then be notified of the results within two weeks and will be given further information and instructions based on their results.
For questions, please call Maria Chapman, Clarke County Hospital’s Sleep Lab Specialist at 641.342.5360. A doctor’s referral is required to schedule an in-home sleep study test.