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Sharon Turner, RRT, gives instructions to a patient at the Pioneer Family Medical of Hamilton Sleep Disorders Center.

ABERDEEN — Residents of a tiny east Mississippi community no longer have to drive half an hour or more to take advantage of a fully accredited sleep disorders center.

The two-year-old clinic, Pioneer Family Medical of Hamilton, a branch of Pioneer Community Hospital in nearby Aberdeen, includes the two-bed Sleep Disorders Center as part of its 5,400-square-feet facility.

The center received accreditation in June by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Since then, more than 300 tests have been performed there and the beds now stay booked three or four weeks ahead.

"The community's been real supportive," said Sharon Turner, registered respiratory therapist. "Just like in any small town, you do one and that patient tells others."

A combination of demand and coincidence led to the opportunity to include a sleep center in the new clinic, along with more typical satellite services such as exam rooms, a pharmacy and on-site laboratory and radiology services.

The clinic's medical staff is led by Lisa Dement, FNP, who came to Hamilton from her previous work with pulmonologist Lance Busch, DO, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus. Turner, who had spent 10 years at the Baptist Sleep Disorders Laboratory, knew Dement from her work there.

As the two women joined the new rural clinic, setting up a sleep lab provided a clear opportunity for the Aberdeen hospital, said administrator Steven Fontaine.

"Bringing this service line to the Monroe County community is part of Pioneer's commitment to this region," he said. "The need for the facility and the experience of Lisa Dement and Sharon Turner made the decision to build easy. We knew that the people would benefit, that ultimately was our goal."

Before the Hamilton center opened its doors, patients from Monroe County faced long drives and longer waiting lists for appointments at sleep centers in cities such as Columbus and Tupelo. Now, relatively swift access to appointments has patients driving to Hamilton from larger towns like Aberdeen, Amory, Columbus, Starkville and West Point, Turner pointed out.

"We're right in the middle of nowhere, but it's met a need for that area," she said, with a smile.

Most of the patients that come to the clinic are between 30 and 50 years old, although children and teenagers are also frequent patients. Sleep apnea is the most common complaint.

For tests, the patients arrive at the sleep center at 8 p.m., and are monitored throughout the night by the center's two full-time respiratory therapists. An abnormal study means the patient comes back for a second overnight stay and testing.

Dr. Farrukh Qureshi of Columbus serves as the clinic's medical director, reviewing evaluations prepared by Dement and communicating with the clinic on a weekly basis.

The center's setting in the small community clinic helps patients feel more at-ease than they might at a larger facility, Turner said.

"It's more personal," she said. "They feel like they can talk to us, and I'm able to do a lot more teaching, too."

Hamilton is located about 12 miles outside Aberdeen, 20 miles north of Columbus and 45 miles south of Tupelo.

March 2007

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