WILMINGTON — Clinton Memorial Hospital and SleepCare announced the completion of upgrades to the hospital’s Sleep Center sleep study programs, including the addition of Philips Respironics Alice 6 equipment, the newest technology available.

“We’re pleased to work with SleepCare, our partner in managing the CMH Sleep Center, to make this upgrade possible and to provide a better, more efficient, and more fully integrated experience for patients and sleep physicians,” said Lance Beus, CEO of CMH. “Expanding access to high quality sleep services is a priority for us, as we know how sleep disorders like sleep apnea can contribute to a number of very serious health conditions, including hypertension, obesity, heart attack, diabetes and stroke. Expanding our sleep capabilities is critical to making our community healthier.”

The new equipment allows the CMH Sleep Center to fully integrate video with sleep study information, allowing for improved patient safety and enhanced information for sleep physicians when making sleep diagnoses. The upgraded systems also now allow for improved sleep information collection and a more comfortable experience for patients.

Further, the upgrades seamlessly integrate with treatment systems, allowing for fast, effective relief from sleep apnea symptoms. And the system’s ease of use provides staff more time with patients.

The CMH Sleep Center diagnoses and treats a variety of sleeping disorders, including sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia and restless legs syndrome. In 2010, the lab was reaccredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) as a full range-of-service sleep center.

Commonly, sleep patients are referred to a sleep center by their primary care physician. A sleep study is conducted by a qualified sleep technician and is a safe and painless procedure.

The Sleep Center offers consultation and follow-up services with a board-certified sleep physician, as well as CPAP/BiPAP titrations, home sleep testing, polysomnograms, split-night studies, maintenance of wakefulness tests and multiple sleep latency tests.

Patients interested in learning more about the Sleep Center should speak first with their primary care provider.