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Sleep Medicine Group Launches Offshoot Focused on Patients

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is launching a new group, the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep, that is designed to help better support those facing sleep problems.

One of the largest professional societies focused on sleep issues is moving beyond its original roots.

This week, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) announced that it would expand its mission with a new patient-focused membership group called the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep.

AAHS, a 501(c)(4) organization, will bring together individual patients and healthcare providers and focus on policy, public awareness, and patient support.

Because the organization includes both of these groups, AAHS says it “will be in the unique position to break down barriers to collaboration while facilitating discussion and solutions that address the concerns of both patients and providers together.” It also hopes to partner with other established sleep and patient organizations to address mutual goals and further the reach of the community as a whole.

“The American Academy of Sleep Medicine established the American Alliance for Healthy Sleep to bring healthcare providers and patients with sleep disorders together to promote healthy sleep for all,” explained Ilene M. Rosen, M.D., AASM’s current president, in a news release.

Chairing the new group will be Patti Van Landingham, who speaks to the patient side of the equation. A longtime narcolepsy sufferer whose condition led to an interest in the medical field, she says in the release that the group’s “goal is to improve patient care and raise public awareness by uniting people who have all sleep disorders to advocate for one another.”

The group has three tiers—patient, provider, and general membership, with the latter category set aside for patients’ families or those interested in healthy sleep habits. Unlike its parent organization, the group only offers individual membership, rather than organizational. Membership will cost $25 for two years, and AAHS members will have access to the latest news and announcements, new research, and an online discussion forum.

(klebercordeiro/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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