Bringing Sleep Medicine to Prominence for Expedited Care

Natalie Huber, director of sleep at EEG & DME services, Bon Secours Mercy Health, leverages her vast experience in the field of sleep medicine to streamline care for patients. Starting as a sleep technician, Huber was fascinated by the effects of sleep on health. She pursued additional education in sleep medicine and has become a leader in the industry while changing lives in the process. Motivated by the vigor to learn and grow, she looks forward to bringing sleep medicine to the forefront of preventative care.

In an interview with Healthcare Business Review, Huber talks about her fulfilling journey into being a leader and the advancements in the industry that could help a large group of patient population.

How does a typical day of work look for you at Bon Secours Mercy Health?

Since we are a Hospital-affiliated entity, there are many crossovers in connecting the dots to ensure that the patients follow up with important teams, including sleep, durable medical equipment or electroencephalography services after discharge. The challenging task gets easier with my team of dedicated professionals who are ambitious and have extensive experience in the field. We conduct regular meetings with the staff, physicians and the leaders of other departments to ensure productivity and efficiency. My team puts in efforts to create a work-life balance so that the working hours and schedules aren’t overwhelming. The work is rewarding as we find opportunities to expedite care for our patients for better outcomes.

What are some of the challenges you witness in the industry?

There are a lot of discussions happening around behavioral sleep health and its benefits for a large population of patients. There needs to be more programs dedicated to treating sleeping disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, patients who are non-compliant and deal with other issues that contribute to sleep fragmentation and loss. Any new advancement in behavioral sleep medicine could be a game changer for our patient population. In Ohio, there aren’t many service providers who specialize in sleep disorders and we would like to venture into this field of sleep medicine. The challenge to get such a new service line started lies in getting insurers and obtaining funds.

Another aspect of growth in the industry is regarding home sleep testing. It’s highly beneficial for patients who don't have comorbidities. However, it makes the job of the technologists at the sleep center challenging. Creating a workforce of caregivers who are well-trained and have excellent patient service abilities is a challenge as well.

How does Bon Secours Mercy Health contribute to improving the industry?

At Bon Secours Mercy Health, we collaborate with other sleep center leaders to discuss the industry’s best practices and overcome obstacles that we face at each of our locations to streamline our operations. More often than not, we identify certain pain points that affect many of us. It is only through collaboration that a better understanding of finding a solution is obtained. Once we find out the pain points, we work with other service lines, hospital readmissions, and chronic disease management to sway movements to tackle the challenges and obtain the resources required in the sleep center. It is all about trying to create a strong team, depending on the expertise of the professionals, and being open to learning and experimenting. Even if we fail, we look at them as learning opportunities rather than defeats.

“It is all about trying to create a strong team, depending on the expertise of the professionals, and being open to learning and experimenting.”

How do you envision the future of the industry?

Many sleep centers neither practice under a neurologist nor have neurology physicians on staff. Linking the sleep center with the neurology service line in their hospital system can make a remarkable difference in the manner in which sleep medicine is perceived. It can help organizations move forward in expanding services, as neurology is a branch that has flourished across the country.

What is your piece of advice for the young professionals in the field?

Staying educated and updated on the advancements in the field can help you thrive in the industry. Networking with people who are more experienced than you can be very helpful. As they come from different backgrounds, they will be able to notice minute details that you may overlook. Every professional in the industry, starting from a trainee who recently began to the president of a sleep company who possesses decades of experience, has something to contribute to the growth of your organization. Treat everyone you interact with as a resource and a partner and keep an open mind to learn from anyone. Be a part of sleep societies and learn from the professionals in the industry because it will help you expand your connections from regional to national. They are wonderful resources for navigating the terrain in an ever-evolving industry.