Thanking Tamera Slack and Arete Sleep Health

For Areté Sleep Health, Project Access NOW fills a significant gap in services. The accredited sleep lab, which conducts sleep disorder testing and treatment in four Portland/Vancouver area locations, was experiencing a constant stream of inquiries into free or pro bono care from safety net clinics.

“We had nothing to offer at the time,” said Tamera Slack, Areté‘s area sales representative. “It’s important for us to be involved in the community, so we partnered up with Project Access NOW.”

Areté Sleep Health’s Hillsboro and Gresham locations are now part of the regional Project Access provider network. Arete offers four free sleep studies per month to patients with sleep apnea referred by physicians at safety net clinics.

“So far we’ve met the demand,” Tamera said. “But we can only do so much. Patients often need additional resources for related medical conditions like diabetes or heart conditions.”

Areté recognizes providing pro bono care would be impossible for them without the structure offered by Project Access NOW. Said Tamera, “With Project Access NOW, we don’t have to make distinctions between insured and uninsured patients. They help us manage the patients by setting expectations up front. They’re incredibly easy to work with and they’re very supportive. It’s been a good partnership from the start.”

(November 2010)