Sleep Disorders
The St.Joseph Sleep Disorders Center:
- Is the first in north-central Indiana accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- Sponsors the quarterly A.W.A.K.E. meeting for patients and communities
- Offers a weekly CPAP clinic
- Provides patients the choice of on-site or home CPAP set-ups available by a licensed respiratory practitioner or a registered sleep technologist. Set-up is ordered the day the test is read.
Our Staff
Our staff at the Sleep Disorders Center are sleep experienced:
- Our medical director is board certified in sleep.
- All sleep studies are interpreted by board certified sleep physicians.
- We take a multidisciplinary approach to sleep through referrals to local psychologists, pulmonologists and ENTs.
- A physician sleep specialist is on hand five days a week.
- Monthly education is provided to registered sleep technologists and respiratory therapists to ensure quality sleep testing from the medical director.
- Two senior registered sleep technologists were trained at the Indiana University Medical Center and have more than 30 years experience between them.
Sleep Disorders and Symptoms
Are you spending nights restless and awake? Feeling drowsy, stressed or a little more irritable than usual? Though life may bring periods of less-than-perfect rest to all of us, a chronic sleep problem is not normal.
More than 100 types of sleeping and waking disorders exist and more than 40 million Americans suffer each year from some form of these disorders. Sleep disorders can affect happiness, productivity and personal safety. They can also be associated with high blood pressure and heart disease. Symptoms of a sleep disorder can include:
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Falling asleep when you should be awake
- Excessive amounts of sleep
- Abnormal behaviors such as sleep walking, sleep talking, night terrors and excessive snoring
Testing for Sleep Disorders
If your primary care physician or specialist suspects you might have a sleep disorder, they can order a test at the St.Joseph Sleep Disorders Center. When a test is ordered you will be evaluated for a full range of disorders by a qualified clinician using state-of-the-art equipment. The center offers:
- Sleep exams scheduled seven days a week
- Day and night studies
- Split studies: MSLTs, MWTs, and CPAP Titrations
- Less than a three-week wait (usually two weeks or less)
- Only local facility to test children ages three and up
- Initial consults available with the medical director
- Follow-up with medical director within two to three weeks of sleep study, along with continued periodic follow-up visits (as needed) to help with CPAP/BiPAP compliance, etc.
Preassessment Questionnaire
If you think you may have a sleeping disorder, please take the following Epworth Sleepiness Questionnaire. The scale is intended to help you evaluate the extent of your sleepiness.
Please use this as a tool to assist your physician in diagnosing and treating your symptoms. The following questionnaire is not intended to substitute for a medical assessment by your physician, but is intended to be taken with you when you visit your physician.
Epworth Sleepiness Questionnaire
Use the following scale to assign the most appropriate number for each situation listed:
0 = Would Never Doze
1 = Slight Chance of Dozing
2 = Moderate Chance of Dozing
3 = High Chance of Dozing
Situation and Chance of Dozing
- Sitting and Reading _______
- Watching Television _______
- Sitting, inactive in a public place (i.e. theater, meeting) _______
- As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break _______
- Lying down to rest in the afternoon if circumstances permit _______
- Sitting and talking with someone _______
- Sitting quietly after lunch without alcohol _______
- In a car, while stopped for a few minutes in traffic _______
Sleepiness Score:
- Normal Range 0-6
- Mild Sleepiness 7-10
- Moderate Sleepiness 11-16
- Severe Sleepiness 17+
Your Stay at the Sleep Disorders Center
Though your test requires a one-day or one-night stay, it will not be like a typical stay in the hospital. Your study will be done according to your normal sleep habits, whether it is day or night. Our sleep rooms are comfortable and inviting and offer 5-star service with all the amenities of a hotel. These amenities include toiletries, a private bathroom, hairdryer, fan, microwave, refrigerator, coffee pot, television with remote and a free continental breakfast. In addition, every room is equipped with a Select Comfort® bed, so you can choose your own comfort level for a good night’s rest.
Pediatric Sleep Stay
In order to make the stay more like home, we are pleased to offer the use of the Nintendo Wii for our pediatric patients.
Location
St.Joseph Sleep Disorders Center
2130 West Sycamore Street
2nd Floor (enter through the door on the south side of the complex, next to the Dairy Queen)
Kokomo, IN 46901
(765) 456-5619 or (866) 770-6171
Additional Web Site Resources
www.sleepapnea.org
www.sleepfoundation.org