The Columbus Community Health Regional Sleep Disorders Center: What Sets It Apart From Other Sleep Centers?

We have an international reputation for quality care.  We have evaluated patients from England, Wales, Colombia (South America), Puerto Rico, California, Washington state, Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Illinois, West Virginia, Indiana, Virginia and Georgia.  Most of these patients (and a large percentage of our referrals from central Ohio) have already undergone testing at up to six other sleep centers, only to be left untreated.  We are dedicated to providing you with answers and solutions for your sleep problems, not just "tests".

We assess patients promptly to provide them with relief of symptoms and to protect them against such devastating complications as heart attack and stroke (which are common consequences of untreated sleep apnea). Our physician reviews all overnight sleep studies the following morning.  And if your sleep disorder is serious, you will either be contacted by telephone or seen in the office on the day after you finish your testing, to discuss your test results and to expedite treatment.  The bottom line?  You will not be left without answers for weeks or months, a practice that is typical of all too many of the other sleep centers.

Decades of experience and expert care. Our medical director, Robert W. Clark M.D., has been actively involved in sleep medicine since 1975, when there were only three other American neurologists in the international sleep society and only eight sleep centers in the U.S.  He holds American Board of Sleep Medicine certificate #004, has served on the medical boards of a number of sleep disorder societies and has given talks on sleep medicine throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe and South America.  He was named one of America's Top Physicians in 2006.

We are the only truly full-service sleep center in central Ohio. For example, we offer specialized testing for suspected seizures, reflux of stomach acid, upper airway resistance syndrome (an extremely common and frequently misdiagnosed cause of excessive sleepiness) and nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring for impotence. 

We have the most advanced treatment capabilities in central Ohio. We were the first sleep center in this region to offer treatment with adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV), an extraordinary breakthrough for patients with both central and obstructive sleep apnea.  These problems afflict half of patients with heart failure and can cause progressive worsening of heart function.  Also, many sleep apnea patients develop repeated pauses in breathing when started on positive airway pressure (CPAP and bilevel PAP): a common reason why so many patients with sleep apnea abandon treatment.  ASV is the answer!  We regard ASV as the greatest single advance in sleep apnea therapy since the introduction of CPAP in the mid-1980s.  If you have had difficulty tolerating CPAP or "BiPAP", ASV may be the solution you are seeking. Also, we now are the first in this region to offer AVAPS (assured volume pressure support) for patients with spine deformities, severe obesity, COPD and breathing failure due to muscle weakness.

We recommend that treatment that is best for you.  Many sleep centers sell CPAP and bilevel PAP machines.  We do not do so.  Our treatment recommendations are unbiased and not driven by any economic considerations.

We ensure superior sleep center staffing.  Ours is one of the very few sleep disorders centers in the U.S. that insists upon 1:1 patient: technologist ratios for seriously ill or complex patients.  And we track satisfaction rates.  Over 95% of our patients rate the care that they received during testing as excellent!

We provide follow-up care and support services for our patients.  At some sleep centers, all care ends upon completion of testing.  In contrast, we are dedicated to helping you both get and stay well--and we "go the extra mile" to ensure such.

We offer free screening tools to detect sleep disorders and educational materials to promote understanding of sleep problems.  Furthermore, our award-winning web site (The Sleep Site, www.thesleepsite.com) provides a wealth of information for patients, families and health care professionals.