We all know someone, maybe ourselves, who suffer from sleep apnea and don’t get treatment right? Do you know the family member who shakes the house with their snoring? Well, it turns out that research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has shown if sleep apnea is not diagnosed and treated, there is an increase in healthcare costs across all points of service.

Most everyone knows that untreated sleep apnea can lead to cardiovascular disease, but did you also know that adults with undiagnosed sleep apnea are more likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and depression? Wow, there’s a lot more going on here than just snoring!

Bottom-line, be sure your staff are trained and competency-checked on setting up BiPAP/CPAP equipment and that residents with orders for these devices are using them.

And what about you? Is it time for you to be evaluated with a sleep study? Remember, you can’t be providing care for everyone else if you aren’t taking care of yourself!