AREA PHYSICIAN SELECTED FOR SLEEP MEDICINE FELLOWSHIP

N. Craig Boss, M.D., Charlevoix resident and a family physician at Boyne Area Medical Center, will leave his practice this month to complete a Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Medicine.

The prestigious program requires an intensive 12-month course of study, which results in qualification to become board certified in sleep medicine.  Dr. Boss expects to return to Charlevoix in the fall of 2006, where he will dedicate his practice to the sleep specialty.  During the past year, he has been working under the direction of David Walker, D.O., at the Charlevoix Area Hospital Sleep Center, in addition to maintaining his family practice.

“This is an emerging field of study that impacts health in so many ways,” says Dr. Boss, noting that as many as 10% of American adults may be affected by a clinical sleep disorder.  “Sleep impacts coordination, concentration, ability to learn, mood, weight, blood pressure, cardiovascular health, and more.”  Boss says that, without adequate sleep, patients are at risk of stroke or heart attack.  “But the good thing is that almost all sleep disorders are treatable through diet and lifestyle changes, or medication and breathing assistance.”

A graduate of Hope College, Dr. Boss received his medical degree from Michigan State University in 1990, and completed his internship and residency at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  He has been in practice in this area 8 years.

While the Boyne Area Medical Center recruits a replacement, four physicians on staff there will treat Dr. Boss’s patients.  Pamela Knysz, M.D., Catherine Wonski, M.D., Michael Harmeling, M.D., and Andrea Wendling, M.D., are all board certified in family practice medicine.  Appointments are available by calling the center, (231) 582-5314.  Dr. Walker will continue to provide care to those patients seeking diagnosis and treatment for sleep disorders at the Charlevoix Area Hospital Sleep Center, (231) 547-8900.