Oklahoma Sleep Institute to manage Lynn Institute lab

The Journal Record
June 15, 2012
By Brian Brus

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Sleep Institute will manage Lynn Institute’s sleep laboratory and develop specialty clinics dedicated to sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment, officials recently announced.

“We’re extremely excited about our new arrangement with OSI,” said Karen Vinyard Waddell, chief executive of Oklahoma City-based Lynn Institute. “Their comprehensive sleep medicine delivery model will only enhance our strong legacy of integrity and innovation in sleep and help to expand our services to be more patient- and physician-friendly.”

Sleep is beginning to be more widely accepted as the new vital sign of overall physical and emotional health, said William Orr, senior scientist at the Lynn Institute and founder of the Lynn sleep lab.

“Data is accumulating that shows a link between sleep and obesity, diabetes and numerous cardiovascular problems,” he said. “Sleep problems are incredibly prevalent in our society. It’s been estimated that 30-40 percent of the general population at some point in time will have a significant sleep problem.”

And contrary to popular belief, it is not possible to trade one hour of sleep for one more hour of increased productivity. Research suggests that even small amounts of sleep deprivation can significantly affect a person’s mood, health, memory and work ability.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest study reported that insufficient sleep can have potentially fatal consequences for fatigued workers and people around them – an estimated 20 percent of vehicle crashes are linked to drowsy driving, for example. Overall, 30 percent of employed U.S. adults, or about 40.6 million workers, reported an average sleep duration of six hours or less per day, compared with seven to nine hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

And shortened sleep varied by industry, with a significantly higher number among workers in manufacturing (34 percent) compared with all workers combined. Among all workers, those who usually worked the night shift had a much higher prevalence of short sleep duration (44 percent) than those on the day shift (28 percent). And an especially high prevalence of short sleep duration was reported by night shift workers in the industries of transportation and warehousing (69 percent) and health care and social assistance (52 percent).

“We believe better outcomes can be achieved in sleep when the patient’s and physician’s needs are addressed through an integrated approach to patient care,” Orr said. “So many patients remain undiagnosed and do not understand the seriousness of their illness. … We need to continue to identify those patients and appropriately assist them in obtaining and maintaining optimal treatment.”

From a business perspective, the Oklahoma Sleep Institute continues to invest resources to create greater access for services in the Oklahoma City area, Oklahoma Sleep Institute Chief Executive Mike Gold said.

“Our management relationship with the Lynn Institute is another example of our commitment to provide a model that enhances patient compliance related to those who are challenged with a sleep disorder,” he said.
Gold said OSI has several sleep clinics throughout the metro area and more will be launched soon.

“With the number of patients suffering from sleep disorders on the rise, it’s critical to increase points of access for patients and referring physicians through specialized clinics to treat this life-threatening condition,” he said.

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