Community Hospital Sleep Services

801 West C Street Suite 3 McCook, NE 69001 For information on Community Hospital’s Sleep Services, call the Respiratory Care Department at: 308-344-8386 or 308-344-8387

Community Hospital's new Sleep Services facility helps you achieve adequate and healthful sleep. A sleep technician gathers data that is later analyzed by a board certified sleep medicine physician who can recommend the proper treatment.

Two beautiful home-like sleeping suites with handicapped accessible private half baths are equipped with comfortable pillow-top mattresses, beautiful headboards, decorative wallpaper, side chairs, artwork and plump bath towels.

In addition to the comfortable rooms, having the sleep laboratory off-campus offers the patient the advantage of a quiet sleep study away from the hospital paging and patient-care activities. The off-campus facility also offers the opportunity in the future to provide sleep studies day or night-based on the person’s work and sleep cycles. To further aid in quiet, peaceful sleep, the sleep suites have black-out shades and insulated walls.

Hotel-type amenities include a “breakfast on the go” brown bag complete with a muffin, fruit and juice. Bottled water and coffee are also provided.

The sleep services facility includes a sleep technician room complete with recently purchased computerized and specialized testing equipment which monitors a patient’s sleep and records key sleep characteristics.

Kristen Besler, Registered Respiratory Therapist from Community Hospital, is the sleep study technician performing sleep studies.

Once the sleep study data is collected and recorded, a pulmonologist board certified in sleep medicine must interpret the results. Two visiting pulmonologists who see patients in McCook include Kalpesh Ganatra, M.D. and David Cantral, M.D.

Dr. Ganatra, sees patients at Community Hospital’s Medical Specialists Center the first Friday of each month. Appointments may be made by calling his Hastings Clinic, Hastings Pulmonary & Sleep Clinic at 402-460-5787.

Dr. Cantral from Platte Valley Medical Group in Kearney, sees patients at the Community Hospital Medical Specialists Center on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Call the Central Scheduling office at 308-344-8285 to make an appointment.

Community Hospital’s sleep laboratory provides a full range of sleep studies to diagnose any type of sleep disorder in adults, such as

• obstructive sleep apnea
• insomnia
• snoring
• narcolepsy
• restless leg syndrome

If you think you or a loved one is suffering from a sleep disorder, seek a referral from your personal physician or one of the pulmonologists listed above.

Sleep FAQ's

Why do you need sleep?

Sleep is vital to life! Close to one-third of all adults have occasional or frequent complaints about sleep. The quality of our sleep has a direct impact on the quality of our life. Few people, however, realize the sleep is essential to physical and emotional health.

Sleep is not merely a “break” time between busy routines. Adequate sleep helps bodies recover from illness and injury and carries mental benefits as well. With enough sleep, it’s easier to concentrate, accomplish takes and handle minor annoyances. Not enough sleep can impair ability in regard to memory, learning, logical reasoning and mathematical calculations.

Even occasional sleeping problems can make life feel more stressful or make us less productive at work. Insufficient sleep can strain relationships and lead to dangerous fatigue-related accidents.

Snoring

Snoring produces more than just a raspy noise and annoyance to others. One of the most serious conditions related to snoring is obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a risk factor for life-threatening heart diseases, a cause of hypertension and heart failure and can lead to Type II diabetes and obesity.

What is a Sleep Study?

A sleep study is a recording of the way a patient sleeps. Contrary to public perception, sleep is not a passive state. Sleep can be categorized into different stages, including drowsiness, light sleep, deep sleep and Rapid Eye Movement (dream) sleep. By analyzing a person’s sleep patterns as they cycle through each of the states, it can be determined whether a sleep disorder is present.

A sleep study involves:

1. The attachment of tiny sensors called electrodes to various parts of the body to monitor brain waves, muscle movements, eye movements, breathing through the mouth and nose, snoring, heart rate, and leg movements.
2. An elastic band around the chest and abdomen to measure breathing.
3. A clip on the finger to measure heart rate and oxygen level in the blood.
4. In certain cases, a camera is used to videotape sleep. This is useful in the detection of movement abnormalities occasioned during sleep. The patient is informed of videotaping by the sleep technician should it be necessary.
5. Your sleep study, an overnight test, will be performed in a beautifully decorated private room.

How Do I Sleep With These Strange Wires?

The most common question asked by patients is “What if I can’t sleep in a foreign bed with strange wires attached to me?” During a patient’s stay, every effort is made to maintain a patient’s regular sleep routine and make them as comfortable as possible.

As strange as it may seem to have electrodes attached to their bodies, most people do not find them uncomfortable or an obstacle to falling asleep. Even though a patient may not have the same quantity or quality of sleep as they would get at home, this usually does not interfere with obtaining the necessary information from their sleep study.

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale

This is a simple tool used to determine daytime sleepiness. Take a minute and rate the following questions:

0= Would never dose or sleep
1= Slight chance of dosing or sleeping
2= Moderate chance of dosing or sleeping
3= High chance of dosing or sleeping

1. Sitting or reading
2. Watching TV
3. Sitting inactive in a public place
4. Being a passenger in a motor vehicle for an hour or more
5. Lying down in the afternoon
6. Sitting and talking to someone
7. Sitting quietly after lunch
8. Stopped for a few minutes in traffic while driving

A score of 10 or more is considered sleepy. A score of 18 or more is very sleepy. For a score of 10 or higher you should take a look at your sleep habits (consuming caffeine or eating a heavy meal before four hours before bedtime). For scores of 18 or higher we recommend speaking with your physician about testing and treatment options.