St. Joseph’s formally opens new $1.3M sleep lab in Clay

CLAY — St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center today cut the ribbon on its new 6,000-square-foot sleep laboratory on the North Medical campus in Clay.

The $1.3 million project includes a 16-bed sleep center that St. Joseph’s says has “hotel-like amenities.” Certified sleep technicians and registered respiratory therapists staff the lab, using digital sleep-recording equipment to diagnose sleep apnea and other related problems. Dr. Edward T. Downing is medical director of the lab. It opened for patients on Feb. 14.

The new sleep lab brings the total to three in the St. Joseph’s Hospital system. The others are located in Syracuse and Fayetteville.

The project architect for the new lab was Paul Huysman of Bennetts & Huysman Architects, PC in Manlius and the general contractor was SJ Thomas Co., Inc. of Syracuse. St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Facilities Services coordinated the project.

Since 1986, St. Joseph’s has performed almost 38,000 procedures and evaluated more than 20,000 patients for obstructed sleep apnea and other respiratory conditions.

St. Joseph’s says that between a quarter and one-third of the population suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, but that only 1 to 2 percent are diagnosed. The problem is increasing along with the rise in obesity, the hospital adds.

Warning signs include a 16-inch or greater neck in women and 17-inch or larger neck in men, a feeling of tiredness during the day, waking with morning headaches, and snoring, according to St. Joseph’s

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