Two-bedroom facility provides greater access for region’s residents
Uninterrupted and restful sleep is an essential part of a healthy life.
Yet many people of all ages, including children, suffer from chronic, treatable sleep problems that cause them fatigue, irritability, morning headaches, lost time from work and school, inability to concentrate, or even more serious medical problems. Often people are unaware that loud snoring is an important sign of a potential sleep disorder.
The Sleep Center at Kalkaska Memorial Health Center recently moved from a portable unit to a new facility in the hospital’s lower level for comprehensive testing and expert care for people suffering from a sleep problem. The center is open Monday through Wednesday nights for sleep studies with a certified sleep technologist.
James G. Milliken, M.D., F.C.C.P., offers weekly clinics and consultation and follow-up care for all sleep disorders at the hospital. Dr. Milliken, who also is a pulmonologist, has specialized in sleep medicine for 12 years. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Pulmonary Medicine, and the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
Director for Ambulatory Services Daniel Conklin said the new sleep studies center features two separate study rooms with beds and is able to serve patients who may not have been able to access the former portable unit used by the hospital.
“Our sleep studies generally are the result of patients going to see their primary care physician, who in turn would send them to a sleep specialist,” Conklin said. “The sleep specialist determines patient needs, such as a sleep study.”
Typical sleep studies are tailored around the patient’s typical sleep rhythm. Conklin said most patients arrive at the hospital around 9 or 10 p.m. and have completed their sleep session by 7 a.m.
Area residents who think they could benefit from a sleep study should talk with their primary care physician.
For more information on the services offered at Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, go to munsonhealthcare.org/kmhc.