Growing Pediatric Sleep Medicine Program Provides Enhanced Access to Care

In 2018, Hackensack Meridian K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Center for Sleep Medicine became the first center in the region to offer comprehensive pediatric sleep diagnostics and treatment.

Under the leadership of board-certified pediatric pulmonologist and pediatric sleep medicine specialist Chee Chun Tan, M.D., M.S., since 2020, the center has seen a significant increase in sleep study volume for young patients and has established new programs to improve access to care and convenience for families.

“In the past five years, our pediatric sleep program has grown from performing around 200 sleep studies each year to more than 600,” said Nader J. Nakhleh, D.O., board-certified pediatric pulmonologist and section chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine at K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. “As a result, we’re hoping to add an additional sleep medicine physician in 2026. We also hope to have access to 1-2 dedicated rooms in our planned Epilepsy Monitoring Unit that will be equipped with polysomnography technology to accommodate our patients with complex medical needs.”

The sleep medicine team currently has specialized portable equipment that allows them to perform sleep studies during a child’s inpatient hospital stay, improving care efficiency and convenience and enhancing access for children with specialized medical or developmental needs.

“In the future, we hope to establish a comprehensive pediatric outpatient sleep clinic where children can receive multidisciplinary care from several specialists during one visit,” said Dr. Tan. “This clinic will be similar to our current HealthyU multidisciplinary clinic, which cares for children with comorbidities from obesity, such as sleep-disordered breathing, and improves convenience and care coordination for the whole family.”

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