LOCAL COMPANIES APPROVED FOR MAJOR SLEEP DISORDERS RESEARCH
West Allis and Port Washington, Wis. -- The Sleep
Wellness Institute and Kleen Test Products have received
Institutional Review Board approval to conduct a major
research project to determine if early diagnosis and
treatment of obstructive sleep apnea can hold down
employers’ long-term healthcare costs.
The West Allis-based Sleep Wellness Institute has begun
conducting sleep apnea screening, testing and treatment for
employees of the Port Washington contract manufacturer.
Three groups of employees will be studied: a “normal”
control group; a group of employees with obstructive sleep
apnea who are compliant with their CPAP (continuous positive
airway pressure) treatment; and a group with the disorder
who are non-compliant.
Healthcare claims data for the 12 months prior to and 12
months after treatment will be evaluated to determine
definitively if the early detection and treatment of sleep
apnea helps to reduce health claims cost. Sleep apnea
has been linked to several other medical conditions,
including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and
others.
According to Mark Stoiber, President of the Sleep
Wellness Institute, the study will use the newest state of
the art form of measuring CPAP compliance, cellular
technology by ResMed™, a Pomay, Calif. firm that will
automatically send participants’ sleep data to the Institute
every night.
“We applaud Kleen Test for its decision to participate in
this ground-breaking study,” said Stoiber. “It’s long
been thought that detecting and treating sleep apnea earlier
rather than later can reduce healthcare costs. This
will be the first definitive study that will examine the
link between treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and
healthcare costs.
Mary Felder, Kleen Test’s Corporate Director of Human
Resources, commented, “At Kleen Test, the welfare of our
employees is our most important concern, and this study is a
natural extension of our successful employee wellness
program. We recognize the growing need for preventive
health care in contributing to employee wellness. We
are proud to participate in this study and we are looking
forward to the opportunity for our employees to be tested
and treated for sleep apnea.”
Kleen Test works closely with Mequon-based Core Health
Group, a national provider of comprehensive corporate
wellness programs. Its President, Connie Roethel, said
“We recognize the significant impact of lack of sleep on
employee health and healthcare costs. Thus, in
collaboration with the Sleep Wellness Institute, we
identified one of our clients, Kleen Test, who was willing
to participate in the research study. We have
partnered with the Sleep Wellness Institute in the project
design, employee education, implementation, and future
evaluation. Of critical importance is that we provide
a liaison between the Institute and Kleen Test to assure
confidentiality and support for employees.”
The Sleep Wellness Institute is Wisconsin’s oldest and
largest independent sleep disorders center. It is
fully accredited to diagnose and treat both adults and
children with sleep disorders by the American Academy of
Sleep Medicine.
Kleen Test Products Corporation is a contract
manufacturer of consumer products for leading Fortune 500
companies. Kleen Test currently employs over 800
people at seven facilities throughout Wisconsin and Ohio.
It is a subsidiary of Meridian Industries, Inc.
Meridian Industries is a privately owned, diversified
manufacturing company that is headquartered in Milwaukee
with plants located throughout the United States.
Steve Gardner
414-336-3000
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