ST. FRANCIS SLEEP LABORATORY EXPANDS, PLANS OPEN HOUSE

St. Francis Medical Center's sleep laboratory, a facility for conducting diagnostic studies of various sleep disorders, has doubled its capacity and is now able to conduct up to eight sleep studies a week, according to Jean Gooden, director of the St. Francis Respiratory Care Department.

In observance of the sleep laboratory's expansion, and in recognition of "Better Sleep Month," the staff of the St. Francis sleep lab will hold a public open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 19. The sleep lab is located on the upper level of the Medical Center's Otto Pavilion. Convenient parking is located next to the Otto Pavilion's entrance on the east side of the Medical Center. Refreshments will be provided.

The St. Francis sleep program, established in March 1990, had previously been limited to four sleep studies per week. "The addition of a second sleep study room has allowed us to boost our capacity from four to eight studies a week," Gooden said.

Health authorities estimate that as many as 35 million Americans are afflicted by sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and parasomnias.

For more information about the sleep program at St. Francis Medical Center, or for details about the open house, call 339-6900.