Today's high demand for sleep studies is evidenced in the waiting lists established at most accredited sleep centers asserts sleep medicine pioneer G. Vernon Pegram, Ph. D. ACP. Pegram director of the Sleep Disorder Center of Alabama, Birmingham, says, “As awareness in the medical community continues to grow, we expect that this

[demand] will continue in Alabama and the rest of the country.”

Pegram and Robert Doekel , Jr. MD, medical director of the center, both board-certified sleep medicine specialists, have worked together for more than 30 years. The two have worked not only to expand the services of their facility but also to educate and train other medical professionals throughout Alabama and encourage them to open similar sleep centers. “Once we started helping others provide this service, we found ourselves getting busier, too,” Pegram says.

With plenty of centers for patients to choose from, the Sleep Disorders

Center of Alabama strives to stand apart from the crowd. One such difference is the Center's high commitment to the amount of time the medical staff spends with patients. A physician sees each patient both before and after the sleep study. “This is not required, but we feel that in the long run we