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wade mcdowell

Trinity Sleep Center Achieves Reaccreditation

Trinity Health Sleep Center successfully completed reaccreditation by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), a distinction that will continue through April 13, 2027. The AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine healthcare, education and research. It has a combined membership of 11,000 accredited member sleep centers and individual members, including physicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals.

The accreditation process is rigorous and involved reviews of patient safety, program quality, personnel standards, policies and patient outcomes.

“Measuring outcomes was something that was recently added to the accreditation process,” said Jutta (pronounced YU-tah) Schmidt, RPSGT, Sleep Clinic manager. “It’s important that in addition to testing patients, we also ensure they are successful with the equipment they get afterward. We follow up and will work with patients having tolerance issues, ill-fitting masks, sensitivities or trouble with protocols. Education plays a big role in compliance, better sleep and better health.”

Schmidt was primarily responsible for provisions required for the accreditation meeting, held over Zoom in November. She began gathering documents in late 2021.

“We were required to provide documents and reports on policies, protocols, patient outcomes, safety standards and staff education, which meant scanning and emailing entire files prior to meeting,” she said. “I plugged away throughout the year.”

The Trinity Health Sleep Center offers comprehensive services including office visits, follow- up visits and sleep studies. The multi-disciplinary team includes board-certified sleep medicine specialists and highly skilled sleep technologists.

“We have very caring Sleep Center staff who strive to provide timely, high quality care for our communities in northwest North Dakota. All staff are Registered Polysomnographic Technologists, many of whom were trained and mentored by Jutta. Continued excellence and personal compassion remain a strong component of what we offer our patients. I am proud of the entire team for earning this reaccreditation,” said Wade McDowell, director of Therapy Services.

To learn more about Trinity Health Sleep Center, visit with your healthcare provider or go to www.trinityhealth.org/services/neurology-neurosurgery/sleep-center

Exercise Classes Relocate to Trinity Health West

A good exercise physiologist knows that once your body gets comfortable with a fitness routine, it’s time to change things up. Building strength and endurance, avoiding injury is most successful when progressively challenging the body to adapt to new movements and higher intensity.

In the spirit of change, Trinity Health’s Cancer Exercise Rehab classes have relocated to Trinity Health West. Participation in the program is by physician referral, and classes are customized by Trinity staff to accommodate one’s abilities and goals. Currently, classes are offered Tuesdays and Thursdays and include cardiovascular fitness, strength training, stability/balance and stretching to help reduce the severity of therapy-induced side effects, elevate mood and enhance sleep.

Delay the Disease, a community class for patients with Parkinson’s, will resume after the new year, when equipment has been delivered for the new Parkinson’s Boxing Classes. These classes will include a full-body workout regimen where participants perform non-combat boxing exercises. A typical class will involve punching practice pads to help improve coordination, vocal exercises to overcome voice disorder, footwork and agility exercises to help improve balance and cognition. Both Cancer Exercise and Delay the Disease classes are underwritten by the Trinity Health Foundation and free of charge.

“Relocating to our own facility allows us the opportunity to take a fresh look at class formats, rethink and redesign programs to incorporate new ideas that benefit our patients, yet continue to challenge participants to improve mobility, balance, strength and function,” said Wade McDowell, director of Therapy Services. “Our goal is to help maintain quality of life.”

Austin Halladay, Community Wellness coach, and a new addition to Trinity’s exercise physiology team, will oversee Cancer Exercise programming, community programming, corporate wellness and community assessment, coaching and performance.

For more information call 701-857-5286.

Physical Therapy for Pain Management

Pain is one of the most common reasons people seek healthcare, and most reach to opioids for relief.

For many, the risks associated with opioids outweigh the benefits. Potential side effects of opioids include depression, overdose, addiction and withdrawal symptoms when stopping use.

Most alarming is the rate in which opioids contribute to overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 75% of the nearly 92,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid.

In 2016, the CDC released opioid prescription guidelines in response to the opioid epidemic. The guidelines recognize that prescribed opioids are appropriate in certain cases, including cancer treatment, palliative care, end-of-life care and in certain acute care situations (such as after surgery), if properly dosed. For other pain management, the CDC recommends nonopioid approaches including physical therapy.

“Physical therapy is part of the first line in limiting pain and improving function,” said Wade McDowell, director of Therapy Services at Trinity Health. “We treat pain through movement.”

While opioids provide pain relief by disrupting pain signals to the brain, physical therapy addresses the source of the pain, providing long-term relief, increased mobility and an improved lifestyle.

“We work with patients to identify what is causing the difficulty and pain. By stretching the problem joints and tissues, and strengthening the muscles that support normal movement, patients will experience pain relief and increased flexibility and movement,” said McDowell.

The treatment of pain, whether acute or chronic, often requires an integrated, multidisciplinary approach due to the many variables that may contribute to a patient’s perception of pain and response to treatment. McDowell advises patients to work with their primary care provider or specialist to develop the best care plan for their unique situation.

Trinity Health Physical Therapy

With the large, experienced team of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in the area, Trinity Health offers a broad range of interventions and specialized experience. Areas of expertise include: lymphedema, pelvic health, low back pain, pediatrics, total joint replacements, surgical recovery, and sports, running and work injuries.

They offer physical therapy services to people of all ages and abilities in hospital and outpatient settings including the NICU, RehabCare (inpatient rehab), Trinity Homes, Home Health, and area schools and early intervention programs.

The care philosophy for McDowell and the Trinity Health Physical Therapy team is simple: Teach patients what they need to do day-in and day-out to live their best life possible.

Most insurances require a referral from a primary care provider or specialist for physical therapy services. For more information about physical therapy at Trinity Health, call 701-857-5286.