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TOMS RIVER, New Jersey, November 9, 2006 – Community Medical Center’s Sleep Disorders Center has earned accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) — making Community the first hospital in Ocean County to earn this prestigious designation.
The five-year accreditation designates a commitment to the advancement of sleep medicine, according to Conrad Iber, M.D., AASM president. The academy is committed to ensuring that those in the field of sleep medicine provide excellent health care and enhance the awareness of sleep as an important element for health, public safety and quality of life.
“An accredited sleep disorders program is a valuable resource for the community,” says neurologist Gerald Ferencz, M.D., co-medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center, a four-room center opened on the hospital campus in 1989 to treat people for such common sleep disorders as insomnia, disruptive snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and movement disorders in sleep. Sleep disorders affect all age groups and can cause excessive daytime sleepiness and difficulties in falling asleep and staying asleep.
Responding to the increasingly critical nature of sleep disorders, Community Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, expanded its Sleep Disorders Center in 2000 to include spacious, homelike accommodations and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. The facility, conveniently located in the Riverwood One building adjacent to the main hospital, houses the latest in computerized monitoring equipment and is staffed by fully trained technicians.
Sleep-related breathing disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, are relatively common, according to co-medical director Stephen Newman, M.D., a pulmonoligst who specializes in evaluating and treating sleep disorders and who, like Dr. Ferencz, is board-certified in sleep medicine. "Sleep disorders can have a great impact on daytime functioning, and they may lead to daytime sleepiness and impairment of cognitive function — the thinking and reasoning process."
Dr. Newman explains that the diagnostic evaluation of sleep disorders often requires overnight examination of the sleeping patient by means of polysomnography to assess severity, effect on sleep architecture and continuity, and the effects on gas exchange, cardiac function, etc.
“Sleep disorders are not always readily apparent,” he says. “So, the controlled environment of a sleep disorders center, and the multidisciplinary approach of a comprehensive center, can help pinpoint a clear diagnosis.
Treatment options for sleeping disorders vary based on the severity of your symptoms and ultimately your diagnosis. Treatments can include a change in diet, medication, continuous airway pressure or surgery to eliminate airway obstructions.
Patients must be referred to the center. Referring physicians receive detailed reports on patient diagnoses and suggested follow-up treatment. For more information on the Sleep Disorders Center at Community Medical Center, call (888) SBHS-123.
Community Medical Center (CMC) is an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, the largest integrated health care delivery system in New Jersey, with seven acute care hospitals, nine nursing homes, five ambulatory care facilities, three geriatric centers, three assisted living residencies, a freestanding 100-bed inpatient psychiatric facility and a statewide behavioral health network. Located in Toms River, Community is a fully accredited, acute-care 596-bed facility offering the most advanced, ultra-modern diagnostic and treatment services, including emergency and urgent care, laser and arthroscopic surgery, maternity and a Level II special care nursery and pediatrics unit. CMC offers the Community Regional Cancer Center, affiliated with the renowned Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia; state-of-the-art Radiation Oncology; a Renal Dialysis Center; a Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, as well as general medical and health care services to the residents of Ocean County; and the Center for Kids and Family with sites located in Toms River and Lacey. Community Medical Center has been awarded the esteemed Magnet Status for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Association's Credentialing Center (ANCC).
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