Category: Tri-Town Business

Investors Savings Bank has named Robert M. Cashill as president and CEO. The bank has locations in Colts Neck, Freehold, Marlboro, Long Branch, Middletown, Wall, Lakewood and Brick.

Prudential New Jersey Properties’ Holmdel office announced the appoint­ments of Candace McKenna and Anna M. Rivera. Recently licensed, McKenna has resided in Howell for almost nine years. She specializes in the residential real estate market throughout Monmouth County. She can be reached at (732) 367-5200, Ext. 126. A resident of Jackson for more than 10 years, Rivera’s market area includes Jackson, Howell, Holmdel, Colts Neck and Toms River.

Perlmutter Family ShopRites, Toms River, was presented with an "American Heartsaver Award" by the American Heart Association for its dedication to strengthening the chain of survival through the purchase of automated external defibrillators (AED) for all five of its ShopRite supermarkets in Ocean County.

Awards were presented on Feb. 4, National Heartsaver Day, to individuals or or­ganizations who saved or help to save a life by performing CPR or by using an AED. The night was especially meaningful to the Perlmutter Family ShopRite associates at­tending because of a save they made in the Manchester ShopRite last year.

In May, a fellow co-worker was found on the sales floor of the store, unresponsive and in need of immediate medical attention. Because the store personnel had the proper training and access to an AED, they were able to revive their co-worker. At the awards ceremony, that co-worker, Henry Koenig, was honored to present his co-workers with individual Heart Saver Awards on behalf of the American Heart Association. Perlmutter Family ShopRites in Ocean Country are located in Manahawkin, Lacey Township, Manchester, Toms River and Jackson.

The Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, Tinton Falls, has announced that Maureen Buehl, Jackson, has accepted a position as manager of its Ocean County office. She will be responsible for managing the daily operations, and will work with service directors to ensure service delivery in all programs in Ocean County. Buehl has extensive Red Cross disaster training and experience. She has worked in the disaster services department of the Red Cross since 1996, and served in the disaster management position in mass care as well as the disaster action team dispatcher.

New facility joins lineup
at CentraState campus
By linda denicola
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — If you’re still tired after what seemed like a good night’s sleep and have trouble staying awake during the day, it may be due to sleep deprivation. If you get drowsy while driving or grouchy for no reason, it may be due to sleep deprivation. If you have trou­ble focusing and are feeling depressed, that, too, may be due to sleep depravation.

There is help. Sleep disorders are be­coming a serious science, said Dr. John Whelan, clinical director of CentraState Medical Center’s respiratory department. "More and more people are being referred to sleep specialists. It is actually helping people."

In order to address the problem of sleep disorders, CentraState has opened a new Center for Sleep Disorders. The center, which officially opened on Jan. 7, was set up to help people who suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy and oth­ers which require a sleep study for diagno­sis.

The 2,000-square-foot facility on the first floor of the medical center contains two bedroom suites and two additional rooms that could be made into suites in the future. Adult patients spend the night in one of the bedroom suites for a personal­ized sleep study or polysomnogram, which records sleep patterns and monitors brain, heart, muscle and breathing activity while the patient is sleeping. Each bedroom con­tains a television and a private bathroom.

According to Whelan, the center treats patients as young as 12. Teenage patients can participate in nap studies that are con­ducted during the day. He said more and more children are experiencing sleep dis­orders which may have something to do with an increase in obesity among children.A physician with expertise in sleep dis­orders then uses the results of the study to diagnosis the adult or teenage sleep disor­der and prescribe an appropriate treatment program.

Whalen explained the process. The pa­tient arrives at the center at about 7:30 p.m. and is set up with electrodes that are placed near the eyes, on the scalp and on the chin.

"We check for movement and wave forms during sleep. It helps us to score what stage of sleep the patient is in. We also measure things like the heart rate and the breathing," Whelan said.

Electrodes are also placed on the limbs because some people have leg problems, such as restless leg or periodic limb movement disorders, he said.

Although it might seem that it is hard to sleep under the circumstances, Whalen said that is not the case.

"A high percentage of people fall asleep within a few minutes. We need to watch the patient for six hours of sleep," he said.

After the study is completed, a physi­cian who specializes in sleep disorders in­terprets the results and forwards the infor­mation to the patient’s referring physician.

Whelan said that about 90 percent of the patients seen are diagnosed with obstruc­tive sleep apnea, a momentary pause in breathing that causes a person to not get a restful night of sleep.

The treatment for that condition is called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), a machine with a nasal mask that delivers pressure to the air ways as the person sleeps. There is also new technol­ogy, called ByPAP, where there is a higher level of pressure when the patient inhales, and a lower level when he exhales, Whelan explained.

"CPAP is very effective. We have other things that we can offer, like nasal pillows that look like little accordions. For some patients it’s a little less restricting. Some of the newer technology has the ability to monitor how the patient is using it," the doctor said.

According to Whelan, sleep disorders can lead to health conditions like cardiac problems, stroke and high blood pressure.

For more information on the Center for Sleep Disorders, call (877) 657-5337.

What do companies pay electrical en­gineers in central New Jersey? What’s the statewide average salary for construction workers? What was the average wage in­crease for hourly employees in 2002? The answer to these and hundreds of other questions can be found in the 2002-20003 NJBIA Compensation Report, an industry-wide guides to salaries and wages paid by New Jersey companies.

Published every two years by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), the report is compiled from a detailed survey of hundreds of New Jersey companies reporting data for more than 25,000 employees.

The report is available for $95 plus New Jersey sales tax, for NJBIA members and $200 plus tax for nonmembers. To or­der, contact Christine Lopez at (609) 393-7707 ext. 224.