Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston Awarded AASM Comprehensive Academic Sleep Program of Distinction.

BOSTON -- Brigham and Women's Hospital's Division of Sleep Medicine in Boston was recently recognized as an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Comprehensive Academic Sleep Program of Distinction. This notable acknowledgement is shared with only one other sleep medicine center in the country.

To receive this distinction, a sleep center must meet rigorous standards in the areas of clinical service, educational mission and research accomplishments. These tasks are accomplished under the leadership of Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D. and Atul Malhotra, M.D., Co-directors of the program.

The clinical aspects of the Division's program are managed and coordinated by Sleep HealthCenters([R]) at their Brighton location, 1505 Commonwealth Avenue. Sleep HealthCenters is a network of sleep medicine specialty centers and the largest provider of such services in Massachusetts.

While at Sleep HealthCenters, patients are provided with comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services, including physician consults, special equipment for OSA patients, such as CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices, patient monitoring, patient education, and follow-up care. Comprehensive, diagnostic sleep studies are conducted in state-of-the-art diagnostic bedrooms.

"We are extremely proud of the association we have mutually developed with Brigham and Women's Hospital's sleep program over the past ten years," states Paul S. Valentine, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sleep HealthCenters. "Working with nationally- and internationally-known sleep specialists at BWH has helped drive the mission and values of our organization. We look forward to continuing in these efforts."

Programs recognized as an AASM Comprehensive Academic Sleep Program of Distinction are eligible for a one-year grant from the American Sleep Medicine Foundation that supports a fellow for training in sleep medicine research. The AASM has endorsed the concept of academic sleep centers of the future becoming independent interdisciplinary units outside of traditional divisions or departments.

The recognition stands for a period of five years which began November 3, 2008.

Sleep HealthCenters is also affiliated with the following Massachusetts healthcare entities: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Faulkner Hospital, Hallmark Health, McLean Hospital, New England Sinai Hospital, and also with New York's Beth Israel Medical Center.