Victoria residents can rest a little easier. There's a new clinical therapist in town.
Charlene Barth made the move to the beautiful Victoria in February, taking over the CanSleep Victoria clinic on Richmond Road near the Royal Jubilee Hospital. Serving as a respiratory therapist for 39 years, Barth brings a wealth of wisdom and experience to her new role.
"I like to share my knowledge and teach, and that's what we're doing," says Barth, who has spent the past 32 years of her nearly four-decade career working with sleep apnea patients in the Lower Mainland.
Regarding her arrival, Barth states that she is excited to work in a new environment and is looking forward to meeting and welcoming patients (new and old) to visit her. Accompanied by a wealth of knowledge, she is eager to help all Victoria residents who may have questions about OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) and related therapies.
Barth joins her colleague Michelle Conville, who operates another Cansleep clinic at Eagle Creek Village, in providing wider availability and access to services in the Greater Victoria region.
Unique treatments for individual patients
Asked if her role as a provider of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea meant putting people in big masks that look like underwater breathing apparatuses, the longtime therapist set the record straight.
"They always put the slant on it. That's the bad slant," Barth says with a laugh. "I always tell patients that come in that all you ever hear about is [the mask], but from all the hundreds of people that come through our offices and sit here, most of them love it because it works, and it allows them to sleep properly, and they feel good."
There are some masks on the larger side, Barth acknowledged, but a multitude of different mask options are available to patients.
"Everyone is unique," she says. "I have to interview the patient and figure out what works best for them each time."
How it works
Testing for sleep apnea is a relatively simple process. A patient's breathing is recorded during sleep with three pieces of equipment: a sensor belt around the waist, a blood pressure monitor on the finger and a cannula in the nose to measure airflow and snoring.
Once testing is completed, the patient’s data is evaluated and examined, looking for obstructions or airway blockages. Up to five per hour is typical, five to 15 is considered mild obstructive sleep apnea, 15 to 30 is moderate, and over 30 is severe.
These obstructions not only hinder restorative sleep, causing fatigue and irritability in the short-term – they can have longer-term ramifications.
"Obstructive sleep apnea is extremely prevalent," explains Barth. "Over the last 30 years, the medical community has done a lot of research on it, linking untreated obstructive sleep apnea to many other comorbidities that happen to a lot of us later in life, such as hypertension and diabetes, heart arrhythmias and other cardiac issues."
Now in its 20th year, Cansleep operates seven B.C. clinics to treat the disorder: two on Vancouver Island, as well as locations in Coquitlam, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and Penticton.
"Once we get them on treatment and their body starts to adapt, then they notice, and they say, 'Oh, I didn't know I wasn't feeling my best," Barth describes.
Barth describes this work as very rewarding, as are the significant changes she often observes in her patients.
"All of a sudden, it's like they blossom," she says.
To learn more about how Cansleep can help you achieve your best rest, visit cansleep.ca.
