Sleep HealthCenters to Manage Sleep Wellness Program for Gordon Trucking
BOSTON, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- After a successful pilot program, Gordon Trucking has chosen Sleep HealthCenters to provide a nationwide comprehensive sleep apnea screening and treatment program. The program is designed to enhance roadway safety by improving the health of commercial drivers through education, diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea.
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According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), it is estimated that insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), narcolepsy, excessive daytime sleepiness and restless legs syndrome plague an estimated 40 million Americans. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has publicly announced a focus on fatigue in commercial drivers, specifically addressing the potential impact of sleep apnea. Regulations surrounding these issues are possible.
Gordon Trucking has a history of supporting the health and wellness of their drivers. Managing sleep apnea is another important step in Gordon's efforts to improve driver fitness. The driver screening program is expected to begin before the end of the year.
"Gordon has a tradition of long-term safety efforts and we are committed to offering our drivers a sophisticated sleep apnea screening program." said Scott Manthey, vice president of safety for Gordon Trucking. "We are confident that Sleep HealthCenters has the expertise to provide us with the most comprehensive screening program available to keep our drivers and roadways safe."
"Healthy sleep is vital to employee wellness and safety, but for trucking companies, it can be difficult to implement a program for employees who live in different places, are constantly moving around the country, have different primary care physicians and maybe even different health insurance coverage," says Dr. Lawrence Epstein, chief medical officer at Sleep HealthCenters, based in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Sleep HealthCenters works with a network of affiliated and highly qualified sleep medicine providers to serve drivers around the country, guaranteeing that employees will have minimal wait times for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.
"Our network of sleep specialists and respiratory therapists help the patient select an appropriate treatment and monitor their response to therapy." says Sleep HealthCenters' CEO Paul Valentine, "Our proprietary web-based system, called PAPCenter, allows us to monitor each patient's device utilization even though they may see different therapists while they are on the road in different states. All therapists are licensed in the state in which they treat Gordon Trucking patients, and the clinical standards of care are standardized throughout the program to ensure the patient receives the highest level of reliable and predictable service."
Sleep HealthCenters, based in Massachusetts, has a system of comprehensive sleep medicine centers and clinics. The company currently runs 26 facilities in Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and is affiliated with academic medical institutions such as Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston.
Gordon Trucking was founded in 1946 in Pacific, Washington and is today one of the leading U.S. long haul carriers with over 1,500 drivers nationally. Gordon Trucking is privately owned and managed by the Gordon Family. Larry Gordon, president and CEO purchased Gordon Fast Freight from his father in 1984 and formed what is known today as GTI. For more information on GTI, please visit their website at www.gordontrucking.com.
SOURCE Sleep HealthCenters
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