Top Hospitals: Sleep Disorders


Nodding off while you read this? You’re not alone if the last time you can remember sleeping like a baby was when you were a baby. We’re a nation of tired people, with sleep deprivation easily topping the list of our most common complaints. Helping us sleep better and studying why we don’t has become an industry, with more and more hospitals opening centers devoted to sleep disorders — sleep apnea, nodding off at your desk — or, worse, at the wheel of your car — insomnia, restless leg syndrome, snoring, dependence on sleeping pills, sleep-walking, night terrors, etc. In these state-of-the-art labs, weary patients spend a few nights in tasteful, hotel-like settings, hooked up to gadgets, while sleep specialists try to determine what’s keeping them awake and how to improve the quality of their zzzzz’s. The following centers are all accredited by the Academy of Sleep Medicine and conduct research in addition to providing treatment.

Cited by U.S. News & World Report for its emphasis on “devising new ways to treat hearing loss and sleeping disorders,” Abington Memorial Hospital was ranked 38th in ear, nose and throat (The Sleep Disorder Center, 1200 Old York Road, 215-481-2226, amh.com).

Founded in 1978, the Crozer-Keystone Sleep Disorders Program is one of the oldest nationally credentialed sleep programs in the region (Taylor Hospital, 175 East Chester Pike, Ridley Park; Delaware County Memorial Hospital, 2100 Keystone Avenue, Drexel Hill; Crozer Health Pavilion, 145 Brinton Lake Road, Glenn Mills; 888-753-3703 for all appointments, sleepcenters.crozer.org).

Recently moved into spanking new digs, the Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center is headed by nationally known sleep specialist Karl Doghramji (2ll South 9th Street, 800-JEFF-NOW, jeffersonhospital.org/sleep).

Main Line Sleep Medicine Services is overseen by Mark Pressman, editor of the respected book Understanding Sleep: The Evaluation and Treatment of Sleep Disorders. He’s especially interested in sleepwalking and other odd sleep behaviors (Lankenau Hospital, 100 Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, 610-645-3400, mainlinehealth.org/lh; Paoli Hospital, 255 West Lancaster Avenue, Paoli, 610-648-1358, mainlinehealth.org/ph).

Worse than not being able to sleep yourself is being kept awake by a crying child. The Pediatric Sleep Center at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children employs a team of pulmonologists, neurologists and respiratory therapists try to find what’s keeping your kid awake (3601 A Street, 215-427-3800, stchristophershospital.com).

Besides its diagnosis and treatment component, Penn Sleep Centers is in the forefront of research to unlock the mysteries of sleep. It has conducted more than 5,000 studies, funded by $8 million in grants (3624 Market Street, 215-662-7772, pennhealth.com/sleep).

Temple Sleep Disorders Center at Temple Hospital uses seven full-time sleep specialists and related support from neurology, psychiatry and urology physicians to perform more than 2,000 studies a year, with a particular emphasis on sleep problems caused by breathing difficulties related to lung disorders (2301 East Allegheny Avenue, 215-291-3881, tuh.templehealth.org).