Wanted: input on designing sleep lab

Handgunner45 · Post by **Handgunner45** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:15 pm

With the beginning of a new fiscal year, the powers that be have released the money for our Respiratory Therapy department to go forward with the setup of a sleep study room here where I work. I will have some say in this as the RT Director is aware that I have and am being treated for OSA. He has already conferred with me a number of times, and now I am going to all you wonderful people to see if anyone out there in hosehead land has any suggestions.

I am sure that I will get many, and I thank you all in advance for your suggestions.

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:20 pm

Just two things:

1) A TV in every room showing either a baseball or golf game.

2) Candy dishes full of Lunista.

Then maybe we could go to sleep!

Dale92 · Post by **Dale92** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:24 pm

Who needs Lunesta I fell asleep at the wheel driving to my sleep study in January If the they wouldn't have had those rumble strips cut in the side of the road I would have driven off the interchange. To think I all most made it there with no problems.

Dale

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:41 pm

any way to make it at least some what wireless
so you dont have all the wires connecting you to the
wall.

makes it easier if you have to get up and GO.

idahogal · Post by **idahogal** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:08 pm

More comfortable beds for sure. Something better than a hospital bed would be great!

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:16 pm

Sleep Comfort Bed. Choice of Pillows. Wireless monitoring. donuts and coffee in the morning. Multiple masks to try in the morning when you are concious enough to understand what is going on. And for God's sake no plastic sheets.

rural dweller · Post by **rural dweller** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:06 pm

Why not put the lab in a mobil unit, so you can go to the patients, as we aren't fit to drive. Honestly, this is a serious suggestion for those of us who live many many miles from the nearest lab....wouldn't it be great if the lab came to us!!

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:33 pm

Dark,quiet and climate controlled.
In my SS there was light coming under the door I could hear the technicians rustling around and it was too hot.
Tell your patients to bring their own pillows.

gecko1977a · Post by **gecko1977a** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:47 pm

silent HVAC, i want it comfortable, but i don;t want to hear the wall unity heater running.

Flat TVs at a height that is comfortable.

COMFORTABLE BEDS, make it a bed like most people have in their house. the hospital that did my studies had murphy beds, which were not comfortable.

yes some sort of continental breakfast would be nice. Wake me up, leave stuff in my hair and makrings on my forehead, and then kick me to the curb !!!

Bookbear · Post by **Bookbear** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:48 pm

I am assuming you are asking for suggestions for the physical aspects of the new facility...based on my experience:

Carpet on the floor, not tile

Bathroom at least adjacent to sleep room, with a shower available (some people will have to travel a distance to get to the lab, and may have to go directly to work after the study is over...a simple sink is NOT adequate to get the goop out of hair)

If wireless monitoring is not possible, then at least have the wire harness exit above the center of the bed so that side sleepers do not constantly roll on/dislodge wires exiting to one side

An enclosed place to hang clothing, i.e. more than just a hook on the wall; doesn't have to be a closet, could be an armoire

Bedside table and lamp

Option at patient's discretion of a night light

Individual climate controls for each room, instead of one temp for entire facility

Adequate space on both sides of bed for access and egress in case of emergency

Chair to sit on

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Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:54 pm

all you just need an old building divided up into seperate bedrooms decorated in early poverty

some beat up old mattresses

some 1950's furniture

laundry basket full of cheap old masks

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:14 pm

Reading what you all say a sleep center is sure makes me like what I had

Temperpedic bed and pillows
sheet and spread like home
bed side table with lamp

tv a little high but not that much

air condition in room ... a little loud
bathroom 1 to each 3 rooms

one room that could have a second person sleep in
the chair ...

carpet in room ... tile in hall way ...

wire harness off to side made it hard ...

I guess I was lucky
even thought i could not sleep with all
the wires and goop

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:19 pm

Anonymous wrote:all you just need an old building divided up into seperate bedrooms decorated in early poverty

some beat up old mattresses

some 1950's furniture

laundry basket full of cheap old masks

...and make sure the beds squeek so that the guy in the next room wakes everybody else up every time he rolls over.

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 7:45 pm

My sleep lab was new, so things like a decent mattress and a bathroom in the room were included. But there was no place to hang my clothes for the night, not even a hook, and the only chair in the room was the one that I sat in while they wired me up. So I folded my clothes and set them on my shoes on the floor. Not exactly the end of the world, but I can't imagine why they didn't consider at least a hook or two.

Is it really necessary to have low-light TV cameras in the room? It's bad enough having every move monitored electronically, but I didn't like the feeling of...being watched...all night...by somebody...somewhere.

I normally read before I go to sleep but there was no lamp. Actually there was no room for one on the night stand along with the CPAP and the other gear. Why couldn't there be a wall mounted light for that purpose? Nurse Cratchett adjusted my mask to the purely painful level, turned out the lights, and closed the door around 8:30. I would have fallen asleep much faster if I'd been allowed to read for a few minutes.

Instruct your staff not to hold gabfests all night long, especially if the desk is right outside the client's door.

How about giving the client the option of some background white noise? I'm a light sleeper anyway and I laid there listening to conversations, furniture being moved around, doors opening and closing, etc., for a very long time before I finally fell asleep for a couple of hours.

The previous comment about an in-room shower is a good one. At the very least provide a bathroom and maybe even a washcloth to clean off the goop in the morning. I made do with a paper towel and since I was driving straight home afterwards, it didn't matter much to me.

During my first visit I was offered some juice and coffee in the morning. During the second, I was given permission to leave. A little customer service training would be helpful. A night in the sleep lab isn't exactly major surgery, but it's still fairly stressful for most of us. A kind word or two during the second visit would have been nice.

Some folks sleep in total darkness while others need some sort of night light. I'm okay either way but I'd suggest that each client have that option.

There was no clock in my room. I often wake during the night and check to see what time it is. I suppose there was some good reason for not providing a lighted clock, but I would have been much more comfortable with one.

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:02 pm

wolftracker wrote:Reading what you all say a sleep center is sure makes me like what I had

Temperpedic bed and pillows
sheet and spread like home
bed side table with lamp

tv a little high but not that much

air condition in room ... a little loud
bathroom 1 to each 3 rooms

one room that could have a second person sleep in
the chair ...

carpet in room ... tile in hall way ...

wire harness off to side made it hard ...

WOW for me, too. My sleep lab was not fancy. I would put it on a par with a motel with nicer furnishings. It smelled a whole lot better than a motel and had a red light with a camera.

THINGS I WOULD KEEP:

A comfortable bed and pillows (but I also brought my favorite pillow)

Colored, patterned sheets and spread

Above the head shelf for all the machines, etc. table with lamp--this is where I set my book and drink

Above the head connections for all of the wiring

TV with timer should you be a "fall asleep to TV" patient

Thermostat to control a/c and heat for the individual room

Private bath with shower

Recliner (which I used to watch TV until the sleep tech came in to wire me, but I think it was because there are folks who sleep in a recliner because of their weight--it is a kind of self-treatment for apnea)

Commercial-type designed carpet matching the walls and bedspread in subtle leaf design

A painting, which looked TOTALLY different in the red light vs. regular light

Lights on a dimmer switch

4 double hooks on the wall for clothing, but I could have put clothes out of sight into the bathroom on a couple of hooks as well

Quiet hallways and rooms, with only an occasional noise even with the door open partway.

I thought it was a very nice, but fairly small room. There was only one side open to get out of the bed.

THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:

The titration study room was hot, though, even though I turned down the a/c temperature. When my tech went to see my monitoring, she called me and asked if I was hot. She then brought me a fan, which really helped. The first study a few weeks before, she told me she sensed hot flashes--which I have but try to ignore!

Actually the whole facility was very comfortable and I truly looked forward to going for the titration study. Then I did not sleep well until the last hour or so, because the darn Swift kept shifting and itching, and the BiPAP machine was so annoying. It had a different noise for inhale and exhale that was about 2-3/4 steps apart musically. It sounded like a flat third made by Darth Vader over and over, although if I'd had to I would have gotten used to it.

I figure if I lived by the river and never heard the boat whistles, lived in a dorm right by the railroad tracks and then lived on a highway just three houses from the stoplight--so the big trucks shifted right in front of the house--I could learn to ignore the noise after a week or so.

'To sleep, perchance to dream' I would have done almost anything.

Mike, I thought your SelectComfort bed idea was a winner. Then the different folks could choose their comfort. Wouldn't that be great advertising for the company, too? They should have a few in every sleep lab, or at least a firm, medium, and soft choice of mattress.

I would have appreciated a radio, too, as I have tinnitus and normally listen to the radio to fall asleep. I could have brought one, but did not think of it. Maybe a clock radio/CD player would help for some peaceful music before bed, if warned to bring a favorite CD.

Wanted: input on designing sleep lab

Wanted: input on designing sleep lab

wireless??

wheels

WOW

Re: WOW

Humidifier

Additional Comments: ResScan and SleepyHead software

Mask

Additional Comments: cpap pressure: 12

Mask	Humidifier

Machine	Mask

Additional Comments: Avg. AHI .4