Mon General Hospital Sleep Center has moved to the new Holiday Inn

The Mon General Hospital Sleep Center recently moved to a new location, a place where people typically go to sleep – a hotel.

The Sleep Center opened on April 1 in the Holiday Inn at 1188 Pineview Drive in Morgantown, on the Mon General Hospital campus. It was previously located off of J.D. Anderson Drive.

“Being located in a hotel has many advantages,” said Kailee Knight-McMillen, a Polysomnography (sleep) Technician and Manager at the Mon General Hospital Sleep Center. “Patients have access to amenities that a typical sleep center may not have, such as a restaurant next door, free Wi-Fi internet access, and a place that family members accompanying out-of-town patients can stay.”

The new Sleep Center features four bedrooms in which sleep studies are conducted. Each room is equipped with a television, along with a bed, night stand and chair. The rooms are designed to simulate a home bedroom, making the patients as comfortable as possible.

Millions of Americans experience fatigue, irritability, depression, lack of concentration and memory, lost productivity and accidents, all due to sleep disorders. A sleep disorder is any condition that interrupts normal sleep-wake patterns.

Sleep centers help individuals return to a normal, productive lifestyle through the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.

Patients can be referred to the center by their family doctor or pulmonologist. They may also self-refer. Patients are asked to complete a questionnaire and maintain a sleep diary for several days prior to their first visit. On the first visit, the patient is seen by a sleep center physician who conducts an evaluation and determines if a sleep study is needed.

For a sleep study, patients spend one or two nights in one of the center’s private rooms. A nearby room is equipped with equipment to monitor sleep patterns, heart activity, blood oxygen levels and body movements. During the study, one or two polysomnography technicians monitor the patients.

“It takes about 45 minutes to attach the different wires to monitor EKG, brain waves, respiration rate, eye movement and leg movement,” Knight-McMillen said. “Patients go to bed at 10:30 p.m. and get up around 6:30 a.m.”

If the study shows that the patient has sleep apnea, the patient is brought back for a second night. On this visit, the patient is fitted with a BiPAP (bi-level positive airway pressure) or CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) mask to see if this will correct the problem.

Home sleep studies are also conducted, in which a portable device is sent home with the patient to monitor sleep patterns.

The Mon General Hospital Sleep Center can also test for and treat Narcolepsy, which is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable sleep episodes during the day.

Depending on the diagnosis, treatments may include medication, changes in daily habits or work schedules, or a simple nasal mask to relieve snoring and upper-airway obstruction.

The Mon General Hospital Sleep Center conducts about 50-60 sleep studies a month, up from 30-40 per month a few years ago. Doctors conduct clinics at the center on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All insurances are accepted.

For more information, call the Mon General Hospital Sleep Center at 304-599-7934.