A Temple Daily Telegram report indicates that a new pediatric sleep lab will open at McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple, Texas.
Diagnosing sleep apnea in children, especially the very young, takes more time and expertise to recognize the signs.
Up until now, parents in the Temple and Belton areas have had to drive as far as Austin, Dallas and Houston to get that expertise. Beginning this week, children can stay closer to home as the first pediatric sleep lab of its kind in Central Texas opens at McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White, which will perform sleep studies on children from newborns to age 3.
“This is a huge important step for children in the area,” said Ellen Hansen, chief nursing officer and chief operating officer at McLane Children’s Hospital. “Parents won’t have to lose time from work as they bring children for testing. Closer to home they can find support from their family and community.”
The center will open in shared space with the day surgery area at McLane Children’s Hospital. After surgeries are completed during the day, the area will remain open at night to perform testing on sleeping children.
Dr. Malvika Sagar, a pediatric pulmonologist who worked in the pediatric sleep program at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, is the director of McLane Children’s new sleep apnea center. A registered polysomnographer has been hired. Grants and donations have helped pay for equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, Hansen said.
Photo Credit: Josh Quinn/Telegram
