(Photo 83224699 © Jovan Jaric | Dreamstime.com)

By Ben Tompkins

Northeast Health

New sleep apnea clinic coming to Tisdale

Feb 20, 2023 | 1:00 PM

Northeast residents can soon deal with sleep apnea disorder with more accessibility and in a timely fashion.

Parkland CPAP Services will be opening its fourth sleep apnea clinic in Saskatchewan on March 1 in Tisdale.

This is part of its goal to better serve rural areas in the province and prevent people from having to drive to bigger centres.

“I know the barriers there are to health care, and for a lot of people, in general, to have to go to Saskatoon and Regina for everything is a huge problem,” said Tracey Alcorn, rural Saskatchewan Director of Operational services for Parkland CPAP Services Inc.

“When it comes to sleep apnea, their therapy is only good if they’re using it. So if there’s a leak in the system, or it doesn’t work, the patient would need to replace it immediately. For some people, to get to Saskatoon or Regina, it might take two hours to get there and two hours to get back, so you’re talking about pretty much a whole day, and some people can’t take the time or don’t have a ride.”

First meeting

Interest piqued after Melfort Neighbourhood Watch program info meeting

16h ago

Wasted fish

Fish abandoned at Deschambault Lake

Apr 23, 2024

Leadership Needed to Stop Federal Overreach

Apr 23, 2024

Parkland has since opened locations in Yorkton, Moosomin, Humboldt, and now Tisdale in the next couple of weeks, along with Kindersley at the beginning of August.

They are setting up these locations with the goal of making sure no one in the province has further than an hour to drive.

“I do 100-kilometre radiuses to try to capture as many communities as I can without too much overlap from previous locations,” Alcorn said.

“When we look at Tisdale, if I were to go north to Nipawin, I miss a lot of the communities south, if I go to Melfort, I miss some communities east and I overlap too much with our Humboldt office. Tisdale was a strategic choice to ensure maximum coverage of the province and make sure people had the easiest access.”

Sleep apnea has been known to cause heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, glaucoma, and more.

Alcorn explained there isn’t a system in the body that works properly without oxygen, and when we don’t breathe, our oxygen levels go down.

“People will stop breathing hundreds of times per night when you’re supposed to be rejuvenating and regenerating and having that restful, restorative sleep… there are also issues with depression, and increased irritability, it’s just all-encompassing.”

According to her, statistically speaking, there are more workplace accidents and vehicle accidents in people with sleep apnea, than in those without.

Alcorn also added she hopes this information encourages people to get tested, especially those who have been told they snore, are diabetic or are menopausal women.

“If you’re tired, you should be tested, you test it and if it’s negative, you rule it out, and if it’s positive, then we treat it and the therapy is 100 per cent effective. There’s no drug or surgery out there that can claim that.”

The clinic will be open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Referral is required for testing, which can be acquired from a general practitioner. Testing will also be done in your home, so you can sleep in the comfort of your own bed.

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8