| Franciscan Health System has opened a sleep disorders center in Gig Harbor in October. The St. Anthony Sleep Disorders Center is located in the 4700 Pt. Fosdick Medical Building. This is the only treatment program of its kind in Gig Harbor, and will serve residents of that city as well as the Key Peninsula, according to FHS officials.
The program has an expert staff trained in diagnosing, assessing and treating sleep problems. The staff includes consulting physicians who specialize in neurology, pulmonology and sleep disorders, as well as skilled sleep technologists and respiratory therapists.
“Sleep is as necessary for good health as are nutrition and regular exercise,” says Arthur Knodel, MD, a certified sleep specialist and medical director of Franciscan’s sleep therapy programs. “Still, an estimated 100 million men and women of all ages and backgrounds in the U.S. do not get the six to nine hours of restful sleep they need every night.
“As a result, they experience fatigue, anxiety, depression, loss of memory and an inability to concentrate,” he adds. “They are also at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.”
Sleep-related health problems add an estimated $16 billion to the national healthcare bill annually, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Physicians and other staff at the St. Anthony Sleep Disorders Center on Pt. Fosdick, a service affiliated with St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, use the newest technology and techniques to uncover the cause of clients’ apnea, snoring, insomnia and other sleep-related problems. For more information, call 253-853-2999. |
