UNT Health Center for Sleep Medicine attains accreditation
The house at 3632 Modlin Ave., on the campus edge, is a neat little red brick cottage. Inside, it’s cozy: fluffy quilts on beds, pastel colors on walls.
You’d never guess it’s a sleep clinic. Patients are evaluated for conditions such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome. It’s the UNT Health Center for Sleep Medicine. Recently it joined a select group of sleep centers by earning accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
As part of the accreditation process, a sleep specialist inspected the sleep center in May to evaluate the facility and equipment, testing procedures and accuracy, quality of patient care and training of physicians and staff.
The UNT Health Center for Sleep Medicine helps create solutions for a healthier community by addressing a common ailment. At least 40 million Americans have a chronic sleep disorder, and 20 million more sometimes have trouble with sleep, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Sherif Al-Farra, MD, associate professor of Internal Medicine, is the sleep center’s medical director. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
Brandy Roane, PhD, assistant professor of Internal Medicine, will be pursuing research opportunities for the sleep center.
Other members of the sleep medicine team include physician assistants, licensed respiratory therapists and registered polysomnographic technologists who perform sleep studies. Patients sleep at the center overnight, while a technologist records their data including brain waves, oxygen level, heart rate, and eye and leg movements.
Treatment plans that the sleep center creates for patients may include sleep hygiene changes (such as establishing a relaxing bedtime routine), weight loss, medications, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), bilevel positive airway pressure (bi-PAP) or surgery.
The sleep center’s ambience is a far cry from the cold, stark-white clinical settings sometimes depicted on television. UNT Health transformed a vintage house into the Center for Sleep Medicine while preserving a homey ambience. Each of the bedrooms has a double bed and private bath, and patients can bring their favorite pillows.
The UNT Health Center for Sleep Medicine
3632 Modlin Ave. (building 16 on the campus map)
817-732-4428
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