Russellville sleep center to hold open house
By Staff
Melissa Dozier-Cason FCT Staff Writer
The Russellville Hospital's Sleep Center will host an Open House for the public Thursday, Oct. 12 from 5 to 6:30 pm.
The new Sleep Center has four rooms used for sleep studies. The rooms have a home-like atmosphere to make the patients feel comfortable and help them relax. They also have private restrooms and televisions, Christie McCorkle, Marketing Coordinator for Russellville and Lakeland Community Hospitals, said.
"We want the rooms to be as much like home as possible so that the patients can relax and sleep," McCorkle said.
Patients are asked to check into the sleep center around 8 pm and the study is usually completed around 6 am. Sleep center guests are served breakfast in the morning, and sometimes even mid-night snacks, McCorkle said.
"Eating late at night may be a trigger for sleep apnea or other sleep disorders," McCorkle said.
Certified Sleep Specialist Terry Crutch, who has nine years of experience in the field of sleep study, conducts the sleep studies at the Russellville facility.
"We are very pleased to have found someone of his caliber to provide quality patient services," Belinda Johnson, RN, BSN, CNO/CCO, said.
Sleep apnea is one of 70 recognized sleep disorders that can be diagnosed through sleep study. Sleep Apnea is condition where patients stop breathing during sleep, usually caused by an obstructed airway. There is a rare form of apnea where the patient's brain stops telling breathing muscles to work. However, most sleep apnea cases are obstructive sleep apnea, according to sleep center literature.
Sleep Apnea is a very serious health risk, and should be treated as such. Sleep Apnea may be linked to other serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Patients who suspect that they may have sleep apnea should consult a physician immediately, according to sleep center literature.
Crutch and Dr. A. Alrabbat, Pulmonologist, Sleep Medicine &internal medicine, will be on hand to answer any questions or concerns about sleep disorders and the sleep center.
There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Sleep Center and for Dr. Jams Benson, ENT, who recently opened his new practice in Russellville, McCorkle said.
