SUNY Downstate Opens New Sleep Disorders Center
Brooklyn, NY - The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research has found that as many as 40 million Americans suffer from various sleep disorders and that the consequences are diverse, serious, and sometimes catastrophic.
As part of their efforts to confront this major health issue, SUNY Downstate Medical Center and its University Physicians of Brooklyn, Inc., are proud to announce the opening of The Sleep Disorders Center at the corner of Flatlands and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn.
According to the Commission, sleep disorders exist at every age level, from sudden infant death syndrome to “sundowning” in the elderly. Ethnic minorities may have an even higher incidence of sleep related disorders, especially those associated with obesity, such as sleep apnea.
SUNY Downstate’s new Sleep Disorders Center is a state-of-the-art facility that includes eight spacious, beautifully appointed sleep diagnostic suites, each featuring a private bedroom and bathroom, and high-end amenities.
The Center easily accommodates patients with a variety of special needs, such as those with allergies, asthma, or physical challenges or disabilities. There are both child and adult suites, including facilities for parents to sleep in the same room with their child. There also are facilities for bariatric patients being treated for obesity.
The sleep disorders program at SUNY Downstate is well known in the professional community and was profiled in a two-part article in The New York Times.
The Center accepts most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. Staff representatives are available to provide additional information and schedule convenient appointments.
The Center’s medical director, Samir Fahmy, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, is board certified in sleep medicine.
The Center is supported by board certified physicians from the Departments of Neurology; Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; and Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology; as well as a PhD psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine and certified registered polysomnography technicians.
Diagnostic sleep studies include polysomnography (PSG), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), and maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT). The main number for The Sleep Disorders Center is (718) 252-1117.
The Sleep Disorders Center is an affiliate of SUNY Downstate Medical Center and a division of its University Physicians of Brooklyn, Inc. University Physicians of Brooklyn was incorporated in 1993 as a not-for-profit corporation whose primary mission is to provide medical care to patients and support the educational objectives of SUNY Downstate Medical Center. It accomplishes the academic component by providing clinical instruction and supervision of students, interns, residents and fellows of SUNY Downstate.
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About SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.
SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.