Sleepcare Diagnostics - Stop Snoring. For Life.

Welcome to Sleepcare Diagnostics

Comprehensive care by board-certified physicians and registered technologists

Sleepcare Diagnostics is a privately owned and accredited sleep diagnostic center and is the largest sleep disorder center under one roof in the United States. We have the unique capability to both diagnose and treat sleep disorders, and we are contracted to provide therapeutic devices.

Sleepcare Diagnostics receives more physician referrals than any other sleep diagnostic facility in the area. Our Medical Director, Shahrokh Javaheri, M.D., is internationally known for his research in sleep disorders and the correlation of sleep disordered breathing to cardiovascular disease.

Care includes diagnosis and treatment of all sleep disorders such as:

Snoring
Sleep Apnea
Insomnia
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD)
Narcolepsy
Parasomnia

Our goals, beliefs and principles

We have dedicated our company to helping people with sleep disorders achieve more restful sleep, better health and improved quality of life. We do this by offering patients only experiences of exceptional quality … facilities that offer elaborate design and superior comfort … and a staff of professionals with a deeply instilled ethic of personal service.
Our goal is to satisfy the needs of our patients and referring physicians and exceed their expectations so that we will be recognized as the company that manages the finest sleep disorder center wherever we locate.

The philosophy that guided our company in its early years still remains the backbone of the company today: to take the fear out of being tested and treated for a sleep disorder and to offer the best accommodations and service patients deserve. Doing so allows us to maintain our position as the world’s premier sleep disorder center.

Shahrokh Javaheri, M.D. - Medical Director

Our Medical Director, Shahrokh Javaheri, M.D., is internationally recognized for his extensive research in sleep disorders and in the critical correlation of these disorders to cardiovascular disease and other medical conditions. He is board-certified in Sleep Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine and Internal Medicine. He is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is an internationally known researcher in sleeping disorders and has lectured in many different countries.

Research Papers

Javaheri, S., Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders in Heart Failure. Heart Failure - A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease / edited by Douglas L. Mann (2004), 471-487.

Javaheri, S., William T. Abraham, Candice Brown, Hiroshi Nishiyama, Rosanne Giesting, Lynne E. Wagoner. Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea and periodic limb movement in 45 subjects with heart transplantation. European Heart Journal (2004) 25, 260-266.

Javaheri, S., Heart failure and sleep apnea: emphasis on practical therapeutic options. Clinics in Chest Medicine 24 (2003) 207-222.

Javaheri S., Parker TJ, Wexler L, Liming JD, Lindower P, Roselle GA.   Effects of theophylline on sleep disordered breathing in stable heart failure: A prospective / double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover study. N Engl J Med 1996; 335:562-67.

Javaheri S., A mechanism of central sleep apnea in patients with heart failure. N Eng J Med 1999; 341:549-54.

Javaheri S., Parker TJ, Liming JD, Corbett WS, Nishyama H, Wexler L, Roselle GA.   Sleep apnea in 81 ambulatory male patients with stable heart failure: Types and their prevalences, consequences and presentations.   Circulation 1998; 97:2154-2159.

Javaheri S., Effects of contiguous positive airway pressure on sleep apnea and ventricular irritability in patients with heart failure. Circulation 2000; 101: 392-397.

Javaheri S., Ahmed M, Parker TJ, with technical assistance of Brown CR. Effects of nasal 02 on sleep-related disordered breathing in ambulatory patients with stable heart failure. Sleep 1999; 22:1101-6

Javaheri S., Corbett WS, Association of low arterial PCO2 with central sleep apnea and ventricular arrhythmias in ambulatory patients with stable heart failure. Ann Intern Med 1998; 128:204-207.

Javaheri S., Central sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in heart failure: Prevalence, impact and treatment. Sleep 1996; S229-31.

Javaheri S., Colangelo G. Lacey W. Gartside PS. Chronic hypercapnia obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. Sleep 1994; 17:416-423.

Javaheri S., Parker TJ, Wexler L, Michaels SE, Stanberry E, Nishyama H, Roselle CSA. Occult sleep disordered breathing in stable congestive heart failure. Ann Intern Med 1995; 122:487-492.

Sleepcare Diagnostics was founded by Dixie Snider in 1985.

Today, Sleepcare Diagnostics is the largest and most elaborate sleep testing facility under one roof in the country. The concept of testing and treatment that the company offers is unique to sleep disorder laboratories. Most importantly, the philosophy that guided the company in its early years still remains the backbone of the company today: to take the fear out of being tested and treated for a sleep disorder and to offer the exceptional accommodations and service our patients deserve.

Laying the Foundation

Dixie’s introduction to the field of sleep studies took place in the early 1980s when she helped her husband, Jim Snider, start a hospital supply company in Cincinnati called CP Medical Cincinnati. During this time, the company was asked to supply sleep labs in the area with equipment necessary to perform sleep studies. Dixie became very interested in the field; she learned how sleep laboratories operated and became knowledgeable about the equipment and the protocol for running a sleep lab. After two years researching sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment approaches, she left CP Medical Cincinnati in 1985 to establish Sleepcare Inc. (The name changed to Sleepcare Diagnostics in 1990.)

The Early Years

A number of psychiatrists and pulmonologists were of great help to Dixie as she developed her vision. Robert Mendenhall, a local attorney and financier, provided needed financial backing and other critical support for the endeavor. Dixie started her venture by offering a simple, in-home, overnight screening test for local insurance companies. Her charge was to determine whether an individual had symptoms of sleep apnea that warranted being tested in a sleep disorders lab. Other services included infant monitoring for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and the supply of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) to patients referred to Sleepcare by a local sleep lab.

While working with patients in need of the NCPAP sleep system, Dixie learned about the dissatisfaction with their experiences at the sleep lab. The cold, clinical atmosphere and impersonal treatment patients received at the time made a lasting impression on Dixie. She decided to discontinue the SIDS program and concentrate on the development of the adult sleep apnea market.

A pioneer in sleep disorders diagnosis and treatment, Dixie severed her ties with sleep labs and worked diligently, with the help of her husband, to identify experts with whom they could work to develop their own sleep testing system. She then approached Shahrokh Javaheri, M.D., an internationally recognized expert for his contributions to the field of sleep research. Dr. Javaheri is a board-certified physician in Pulmonology, Internal Medicine and Sleep Disorders; a Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; head of the sleep research department at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Medical Director of Sleepcare Diagnostics today.

Dr. Javaheri personally evaluated their system and determined it was effective for diagnosing patients with sleep apnea. He agreed to join Sleepcare as the consulting physician and interpreter of sleep studies with assurance from Dixie and Jim that they were committed to working toward acquiring full polysomnography (considered the "gold standard" and most reliable diagnostic method to confirm a sleep-related breathing disorder). They opened a one-bed facility in West Chester, Ohio, in 1990 while continuing to home test and provide NCPAP services.

It was a difficult beginning, as the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders was still in its pioneer stage. After all, sleep apnea was first diagnosed in 1965 and NCPAP therapy was first applied to sleep apnea in 1981. As a result, much time was spent supplying physicians and insurance companies with research on sleep apnea and NCPAP.

In 1992 Sleepcare became the first sleep laboratory in the country with the ability to both diagnose and treat apnea patients. Services included a proactive and intensive follow-up program that monitored patients’ progress with NCPAP therapy long-term at no cost to the patient or the insurance provider. Today, approximately 90 percent of Sleepcare patients remain compliant with treatment long-term. (The national average is 60 percent).

Becoming an Industry Leader

In 1995, the company moved to a five-bed facility in Mason, Ohio, which grew to eight beds by 2001. The company’s booming growth led to the opening of a new, luxurious, 15-bed facility in Mason in 2003. That same year the company opened a Dayton-area office, a partnership between Sleepcare and several Dayton pulmonologists.

In 2004, the Mason facility expanded to inclue 19 beds. A new Eastgate facility also was opened, a joint venture with a local physician practice.

Dixie never forgot the unhappy patients who said they would never go through the experience of being tested in a sleep lab again. Her goal has always been to make a visit to Sleepcare Diagnostics a pleasant experience. A staff of professionals who are trained in providing exceptional patient care welcomes patients with all types of sleep disorders.

Dixie has proven to the physician community that continuity of care and attention to the special needs of their patients is her company’s primary concern. Sleepcare’s integrated service model – which includes diagnosis, treatment and the provision of therapeutic devices – helps patients receive the multifaceted care they need. Physicians agree, referring more patients to Sleepcare Diagnostics than any other sleep lab in the area.

Future Plans

Sleepcare Diagnostics is pursuing joint ventures with physician practices in Fairfield/Hamilton, Ohio, and Western Hills/Cincinnati, Ohio.