Bayshore Community Hospital Opens New Sleep Center; Counting Sheep to Retire

Commuters were greeted at the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Wednesday morning by friends they normally only meet in the bedroom.

Two Monmouth County counting sheep spent the early morning hours waving and announcing their retirement while employees from Bayshore Community Hospital passed out flyers announcing the opening of a new Center for Sleep Medicine, a service of Meridian Neuroscience.

The new Center for Sleep Medicine at Bayshore Community Hospital is located at 678 North Beers Street, Holmdel, across the street from the hospital's main building.

The following is a press release from Bayshore Community Hospital:

According to a recent Gallup Poll, more than one-third of the population has trouble sleeping. The effects of sleep disorders range from simple irritation, to very serious conditions that can negatively impact health and disrupt one’s daily life. For years, many of us trying to get to sleep have lay in bed, closed our eyes and counted sheep jumping over a fence, in the hopes of drifting off to dream land.

The time has come to relieve these sheep of their duties thanks to Bayshore Community Hospital announcing the opening of a new Center for Sleep Medicine, a service of Meridian Neuroscience.

Bayshore has been helping patients find more restful sleep since 2000, when a Center opened within the hospital. Now, the newly opened Center for Sleep Medicine is located in a renovated home just a few doors down from the hospital, so patients can feel as though they are “at home.”

Carol Ash, D.O., corporate medical director for Sleep Medicine across Meridian Health and board certified in Sleep Medicine and Adrian Pristas, M.D., medical director, also board certified in Sleep Medicine, will work together to expand Sleep Medicine and the services offered for our patients. The pair will develop a comprehensive approach to identifying, diagnosing, and treating sleep disorder patients. In addition, a dedicated nurse navigator is available to guide the often overwhelmed, sleep deprived patient through diagnostic testing, treatment, and the education process.

“Sound and restful sleep is fundamental to our health and well-being,” says Dr. Pristas. “People who get too little sleep often have problems performing their daily activities. They may be drowsy, exhausted, and irritable during the day, and have difficulty concentrating.  Over time, untreated sleep disorders can lead to a higher risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.”

The new Center was built with patient comfort as a top priority. Each private room is decorated and furnished with many of the comforts of home including dedicated bathrooms, new comfortable mattresses with luxurious bed sheets, flat screen televisions, and comfortable recliners. Toiletries are provided in the morning after the overnight sleep testing and a light breakfast starts the day before leaving for work or home. In addition, the new rooms have pediatric capability to provide care for children in our area.

“The new six-bed Center for Sleep Medicine at Bayshore will provide enhanced sleep care services and testing in a larger environment that better meets the needs of our sleep disorder patients,” says Timothy J. Hogan, regional president for Bayshore Community Hospital and Riverview Medical Center. “Our goal is to not just be a testing center, but rather to provide comprehensive sleep disorder care with various treatment options offered to benefit our patients.”

The new Center for Sleep Medicine at Bayshore Community Hospital is located at 678 North Beers Street, Holmdel, New Jersey. For more information visit www.BayshoreHospital.org or call 1-855-267-1181.

To learn more about the sheep of Northern Monmouth County and see their plans for retirement visit www.BayshoreHospital.org/sleep.