A year of work ended Friday when the Hillcrest Henryetta sleep lap officially opened.
Hospital administrator Dee Renshaw said sleep studies have been going on for the past 10 years but have been held in a building away from the medical center.
“We have two beds that will be in a locked building so people can do the tests without worry,” he said.
He and Hillcrest officials held an open house Friday showing off the renovated facility. It occupies part of the former dialysis clinic just to the north of the hospital.
Dr. Jana Loveless is going to be working with patients through the study. She is a sleep specialist and has experience treating sleep disorders.
“This is for any sleep disorder, not just sleep apnea,” she said. “People can be referred from their primary physician or can come here for a consultation,” she added. “This is going to be no different in Henryetta than what you can get in Tulsa.”
In one of the two rooms, patients come in during the evening and get fitted with masks and monitoring equipment.
During the sleep period, patients will be allowed to sleep for several hours than may be fitted with a CPAP mask.
One of the new additions is the sanitizer for the equipment used. In the past, the hospital had to discard those masks after each patient but a sanitizing unit has been certified for Henryetta and is expected to save several thousands of dollars.