RWJ Hamilton Helping Adults and Children in Greater Mercer County to Sleep Better, Focus More
Hospital Opens State-of-the-Art SleepCare Center in Robbinsville

HAMILTON, NEW JERSEY – If you have trouble sleeping, you are not alone. In fact, an estimated 100 million Americans regularly fail to get a good night's sleep. The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (RWJ Hamilton) SleepCare Center is helping adults and children overcome sleep difficulties through its a state-of-the-art overnight and daytime sleep study facility that is now open in Robbinsville, New Jersey.

The Center is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This accreditation means the Center meets the nation's highest standards for sleep programs. The new location at 1 Union Street can accommodate overnight sleep studies for a total of eight adult and pediatric patients.

Director of RWJ Hamilton SleepCare Center, Mahmood I. Siddique, DO, FACP, FCCP, FAASM

By diagnosing and treating the full range of sleep disorders, the Center routinely improves the health and quality of life of patients. The Center is under the medical direction of Mahmood I. Siddique, DO, FACP, FCCP, FAASM, a board certified sleep specialist and associate professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Joining Dr. Siddique on the Center's staff are more sleep specialists than at any other hospital in Mercer County. The Center offers comfortable accommodations that rival any five-star hotel, which helps relax patients who are guests for overnight sleep studies.

A Bad Night's Sleep is a Danger to Your Health
Approximately 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders and about 95 percent of these cases go untreated. Not sleeping well is more than just an inconvenience; each year, 200,000 automobile accidents are sleep-related and obstructive sleep apnea —one of the most common sleep disorders — accounts for more than 38,000 cardiovascular deaths. Fortunately, sleep disorders are both diagnosable and treatable.

Just What the Doctor Ordered
For people who think they may be suffering from a sleep disorder, a first step is to discuss any concerns with a primary care physician. A referral to a sleep specialist can be provided by primary doctors.

Center Offers Pediatric Sleep Specialty: Think Sleep Problems before ADHD
A sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be at the root of the problem for children who exhibit tendencies typically associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Unlike adults with OSA, who exhibit excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep fragmentation or poor sleep quality, children with OSA often exhibit more subtle daytime symptoms.

The SleepCare Center's Sherene El-Sioufi, DO, board certified in sleep medicine, has a special interest in treating pediatric sleep disorders. She recommends that children exhibiting any of the following symptoms should be considered candidates for evaluation:

• snoring with a history of difficulty breathing during sleep
• impaired growth
• neurobehavioral indicators such as poor grades in school
• agitation/attention deficit problems or hyperactivity.

Free Equipment and Sleep Fair
RWJ Hamilton's SleepCare Center will observe National Sleep Awareness Week by hosting a health fair dedicated to science of sleep on Thursday, March 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Conference Rooms A and B at the RWJ Hamilton Center for Health & Wellness, 3100 Quakerbridge Road, Mercerville, New Jersey. The SleepCare Center's Medical Director, Mahmood Siddique, DO, will present lectures by experts in the fields of sleep disorders and related medicine. The fair will also showcase state-of-the-art sleep components as demonstrated by representatives from distributors and manufacturers. Patients suffering from sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, as well as their families, are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served. For information and advance registration, call HealthConnection, (609) 584-5900.

More About RWJ Hamilton
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (RWJ Hamilton) is the only New Jersey hospital to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Located in Hamilton Township, NJ, the hospital is part of the RWJ Health System and Network and is affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey-RWJ Medical School and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

The RWJ Hamilton Health Care Corporation serves communities within a five-county area and includes an acute care hospital, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey Hamilton, three affiliated medical groups, seven Lakeview Child Centers, and the RWJ Hamilton Center for Health & Wellness, home of a medically-based fitness center and the hospital's extensive community education program. Over 1,900 hospital employees and 650 medical staff physicians share RWJ Hamilton's passion for Excellence Through Service. For more information, visit www.rwjhamilton.org.