Since it opened last fall, Marshfield Clinic’s sleep lab in Minocqua has worked with nearly 400 patients.
The lab recently earned program accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
“Accreditation is the national gold standard,” said Dr. Amit Biswas. He’s proud of the work the medical team at Marshfield Medical Center Minocqua Sleep Lab does.
About 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems, according to the CDC.
Those issues can range from restless leg syndrome to the rarer narcolepsy.
Biswas says he most commonly treats sleep apnea which occurs in about 18 to 25 percent of males.
Because of how common these disorders are, Marshfield Clinic decided to open a sleep lab in Minocqua last fall.
“Minocqua is a very important area because the patients we see are not just from the Minocqua region, but they come from Eagle River, Rhinelander, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, Phillips. It’s convenient. Rather than have them drive all the way to Wausau or Marshfield where we have these accredited sleep labs, it’s more convenient,” said Biswas.
Marshfield has helped more than 380 patients from across the Northwoods with their sleep troubles, whether that’s from the patient’s home or in the state-of-the-art lab.
“I’ve been lucky to work with an excellent group of sleep medicine technologist who are all well-trained and certified,” said Biswas.
Biswas says that’s translated into a great patient experience.
“After the study is completed, we request them to fill out a questionnaire. Both our lab and our technologists have had excellent reviews. It’s been a pretty positive experience,” he said.
Patient care is one of the many factors the sleep lab was evaluated on in order to receive its accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
The lab also had to meet or exceed standards in other areas like personnel, facility and equipment, and data acquisition.
They’ll need to keep up that standard to maintain the accreditation.
“By getting accreditation, we put pressure on ourselves to do things the right way and obviously they make sure we are doing it the right way. It’s good for the patients. It’s good for the community. And it’s good for the standard of medical practice,” said Biswas.
The Minocqua Sleep Lab joins the ranks of 2,600 accredited sleep centers across the country.
