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How did you get into managing sleep centers?

I worked for Eckerd Drugs; I was a district manager for 15 years. I decided to get into the medical field, so I went to school, not to be a physician but more of a medical assistant. I did an internship at a physician’s office, and one of the patients was a manger of a sleep center in Texas. I did my internship at Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas, and then I never left sleep. I just moved myself up, really. My mentor in sleep was the first boarded sleep physician in Fort Worth. I’ve opened sleep labs in Oklahoma, Texas. And I was online looking to hire somebody when I found this job (at the West Lakes Sleep Center). I looked at it and said, “I can do that,” and here I am three months later.

What attracts you to the business?

It’s a good mix for me because I have the business background enough to be able to juggle all the balls, and then it’s the health-care industry, which is taking care of the patients. Having a sleep study is nothing (like) what people think. There are over 90 sleep disorders.

What drew you to Iowa?

It really totally was the job. I’d been in Texas for 20 years. I was actually born in Manhattan; I was raised in Buffalo. I’ve lived in Florida, worked in Alabama. And then I was in Texas for 20 years. I wanted to get back to a more northern climate. Texas, I never really liked it there. I just got stuck there.

How is this center different from the other centers opening here?

I just got elected onto the board of the Iowa Sleep Society a week ago, and there’s a lot of Mercy people on there, and we work closely together to bring more attention to sleep. As a niche, it’s nice hotel-type bedrooms. We want to make them feel comfortable as much as we possibly can. We give them a little $5 brochure in the morning to go to the Bistro and have breakfast. We provide the continuity of care by having a durable medical equipment company in the same building. They’ll be opening up maybe by Dec. 1. I believe with our pulmonary department right here, we provide all aspects.

Are you getting booked up already?

We have 92 patients this month. We can do a couple hundred studies a month, so our very first month open, we’re at half-capacity.

What’s your biggest challenge?

I would say the most challenging part of the job is probably getting the sleep lab ready for its accreditation. You have Medicare rules to follow, insurance company rules to follow, making sure health-care procedures are in place for patient care and safety. Since I started work, this whole three months moving up to this point has been all that paperwork preparation to get it done.

Why is the field becoming more popular?

I think it’s probably because they’re finding out more how it relates to other disorders. Sleep is generally not the reason you’re going to a sleep center; there’s something else going on. I think that’s why I like the field, because they’re always finding more.

Why did you decide to live downtown?

Because I knew I couldn’t be in suburbia. I figured if I’m going to be here by myself, I’d rather be downtown.

Is there something you still want to achieve?

Probably go back to school in health-care administration.

Any advice that you try to live by?

I always think that you just have today, so you have to make the best of every day. I just try to squeeze every minute out of the day before I collapse. I don’t look behind, because you can’t change the past.