Thrive with California Sleep Society membership collaboration or simply Survive
16th Annual Educational Symposium
The 16th Annual Educational Symposium was a great success. Thank you to all who attended, including members and non-members alike, and, our speakers, exhibitors and sponsors!
Certificates of Attendance have been issued. If you have not received yours, please reach out to Leigh Gallagher at [email protected].
17th Annual Educational Symposium
The California Sleep Society will hold its 17th Annual Educational Symposium in Northern California, specifically, in the East Bay Area.
As soon as location and dates are solidified, we will make an announcement. Stay tuned!
Membership Benefits include:
- Education events in sleep medicine
- Contact listings with other sleep professionals
- Local networking opportunities
- Shared insights into sleep legislation and legislative advocacy
- CSS Newsletter and opinion pieces
- Discount on CSS annual meeting
- Ability to place ads or publish articles in Newsletter
- Listing in California membership directory
Newsletter Contributions
If you would like to contribute a sleep-based feature article, we would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
Later School Start Time: The Personal Story of Amrit Joshi
By: Amrit Joshi, a senior at Gunn High School (Palo Alto, California)
Balancing healthy sleep habits, academic excellence, and athletic performance is a task achieved by few, yet sought by many. As a senior at a prestigious high school and an all-league varsity athlete, I can testify that balancing these activities undoubtedly feels impossible at times. However, the addition of a later school start time at the dawn of my freshman year brought about numerous unexpected benefits, both physically and mentally.
The Changing Paradigm Of Medicine, Is Sleep Medicine Keeping Up?
By: Robyn Woidtke, MSN, RN, CCSH, RPSGT, FAAST, California Sleep Society Board Member
Although not a relatively new concept, the shape of medicine is changing. The P4’s of medicine came to fruition around 2008, when Dr. Leroy Hood coined the term.
Board of Directors: Outgoing Board Members
By: Robyn Woidtke, MSN, RN, CCSH, RPSGT, FAAST, California Sleep Society Board Member
The California Sleep Society wishes to thank our outgoing Board members for their substantial contributions to the Board and the California Sleep Society at large. We hope you will also extend a note of gratitude to the following when you cross paths.
Andrew Binder, MD, FDDP, FAASM, DABSM
Ryan Pierce, RPSGT
Jonathan Sherrill, BA, RSPGT, RST
It takes commitment, time and volunteerism to serve. The Board meets monthly and as needed to support the Society’s goals and mission. Our outgoing members have served well and provided their expertise, wisdom and advocacy to the field of sleep health.
We will miss you but look forward to continuing these friendships and hope you will consider volunteering for one of the ongoing committees.
Board of Directors: Incoming Board Members
Three new Board Members were recently elected to the California Sleep Society’s Board of Directors. We welcome them and appreciate their willingness to serve.
Mustapha “Khem” Ballaho is a registered sleep technologist since 06/2003. He graduated from the U.S. Navy Schoolhouse of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland as an Electroneurodiagnostics Tech in April 2000, where he first learned to perform polysomnograms.
Khem has been a sleep tech, lab manager, clinical specialist, educator, lab owner and runs a sleep tech school (SleepA2Z in the Philippines) with students from various countries as well as an Executive Member of a non-profit organization (NAPSS – Network of Asia Pacific Sleep Specialists) that organizes sleep conferences all throughout Southeast Asian regions and Hawaii.
With an undergrad degree in healthcare administration and a master’s in business, he has technical, clinical, and business perspectives in sleep.
Currently, he manages the University of Southern California’s (USC) Keck Sleep Disorders Center, which is one of the leading sleep centers in managing hypoglossal nerve stimulation patients in the country and a designated magnet hospital (by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s -ANCC Magnet Recognition program).
In his free time, he teaches polysomnography, answers technical/clinical questions in social media, and helps review aspiring future RPSGTs virtually.
He loves to play music, watch or read on Sufism/mystery novels, and spend time with his wife and their 3 children.
His future plan is to obtain a PhD and write a dissertation regarding global business/operation in sleep.
Meet Jennifer Elias, an accomplished RPSGT and Clinical Coordinator at Orange Coast College’s Polysomnographic Technology Program. Jennifer’s journey in sleep medicine began with an AS degree in Polysomnography from Orange Coast College in 2019.
She gained experience in both pediatric and adult populations at CHOC Children’s Hospital Sleep Center and Pomona Valley Hospital Sleep Disorder Center. With a Bachelor of Science in Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she returned to her alma mater to teach. Her love for the field of sleep medicine continues to flourish.
Jennifer is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Public Health at Touro University, which she will complete in Spring 2024. Her passion for teaching and extensive experience in the field make her a driving force in advancing sleep medicine while inspiring and educating future sleep technologists.
Dr. Audrey Yoon is a dual trained orthodontist and pediatric dentist who specializes in sleep medicine. She practices the full scope of non-surgical and surgical orthodontics from pediatric to geriatric population for airway management including growth modification, pediatric palatal expansion, customized Miniscrew-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE), Distraction Osteogenesis Maxillary Expansion (DOME), Orthodontic treatment for Maxillomandibular Advancement ( MMA ), clear aligner therapy and oral appliances for sleep apnea.
She completed her orthodontic and pediatric dentistry residencies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She first earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery at Seoul National University and earned her another Doctor of Dental Surgery and Master of Science degree, completing extensive research in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) at UCLA. She is a Clinical Professor of Stanford Sleep Medicine Center at Stanford University, an Assistant Professor in Orthodontics at University of Pacific. She is also a diplomate of American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and diplomate of American Board of Orthodontics.
She has created World Dentofacial Sleep Society (WDSS) and is a founding president of WDSS. She also has created Pacific Dental Medicine Sleep Fellowship program at University of Pacific and currently serve as program director. She is also a co-founder of pediatric dental sleep medicine mini residency at Tufts University.
She has introduced on a pioneering technique, performing maxillary distraction osteogenesis for the treatment of OSA and has co-authored chapters on this subject in many leading textbooks. Currently her active areas of research include craniofacial growth modification, customized distractor designs, surgery-first approach of maxillomandibular advancement surgery technique, and the genomic study to identify genetic anatomical factors relating to OSA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 6, 2023
Assemblyman Tri Ta Announces Legislation to
End Archaic Time Changes
Ending time changes is the will of the California voters after Prop 7 passed in 2018.
ORANGE COUNTY—Today, Assemblyman Tri Ta announced new legislation to end the outdated practice of changing clocks twice a year. If passed, this measure would keep California on year-round standard time.
“Changing clocks twice a year is not only frustrating, but it’s dangerous for drivers and contributes to our state’s mental and physical health crises every year. When voters passed Proposition 7 overwhelmingly in 2018, they did not expect the Legislature to stall the will of the voters by refusing to take up this important measure,” said Assemblyman Ta. “This legislation makes good on a promise that California voters decided on long before I was in office. It’s been 5 years, and now that I’m here in Sacramento, I’m going to hold government accountable and take action.”
In 2018, Proposition 7 passed in California with nearly 60% of the vote, calling on the Legislature to end twice-yearly time changes. According to several studies, time changes are linked to increases in vehicle accidents, seasonal depression, and other severe health issues.
Dr Andrew Binder, MD, FAASM, FCCP, member of the Board of Directors of the California Sleep Society, who is excited and relieved to see this issue finally getting the attention it needs, says “I applaud Assemblyman Tri Ta for introducing this legislation. Children and teenagers are especially impacted by the disruption caused by time changes. Our natural sleep rhythms and internal clocks are best suited for year-round standard time and after the passage of Proposition 7, now is the time for the Legislature to act. I urge Assemblyman Ta’s colleagues in the Legislature to follow the science and join him in passing this important bill so Californians can lead healthier lives.”
This bill would require a 2/3 vote of the Legislature and would go into effect in 2025 if passed.
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Assemblyman Tri Ta represents northwest Orange County in the California Legislature. The 70th District includes Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Midway City, Rossmoor, Stanton, Westminster and portions of Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and Seal Beach.
