History
One evening in
1980, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) physicians made the first attempt to perform
a comprehensive sleep study in Norfolk General Hospital. Technician Karen Williams,
neurologist Dr. James Etheridge, and pulmonologist Dr. Reuben
McBrayer crowded into a small EEG room with a Grass polysomnograph, a huge
Hewlett-Packard ear oximeter, a spirometer,
an end
tidal CO2 device, a device to monitor chest wall excursion, and a
patient on a stretcher with a tube going into his nose and down his throat to measure esophageal
pressure. This was happening with the encouragement and support of the
otolaryngologist, Dr. Donald Sly.
The result was unexpected at the time
but in retrospect no surprise. The patient did not go to sleep.
Tired, they went home in the early morning hours. They fortunately
tried again on another night (with another patient) and recorded the
first sleep study in the hospital. Around the same time Dr.
Etheridge was conducting nap tests (Multiple Sleep Latency Tests) to
detect narcolepsy.
Drs. McBrayer, Etheridge, and Sly continued their
interest in sleep disorders, encouraged by dramatic success in treating the severe sleep apnea
of an EVMS faculty member. Others at EVMS, such as Dr. Jerry Morewitz, a former
chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, visited sleep centers around the
country for ideas of how to develop an outstanding center. Soon after this, Dr. J. Catesby
Ware joined EVMS in 1985.
In 1986 Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and EVMS established the
first accredited Division of Sleep Medicine (DSM) in Virginia and the 60th in the country. The
Center was re-accredited for five years in 1991 and again for five years in 1997; the most recent
re-accreditation was in 2007. We currently have three board-certified
sleep medicine specialists and two experienced Family Nurse
Practitioners who also care for patients.
The Center developed solid clinical, research,
and training programs and the center's staff has been active nationally promoting
the field. Members have served as president of the Southern Sleep Society
and director of the National Sleep Medicine Course, and held
other national offices. The Center continues to grow, contributing to the health and
education of the community it serves and to the understanding of the sleep and sleep
disorders. Here you will find information about the current
professional staff members. Most
recently, the EVMS Division of Sleep Medicine contributed to the
development of the Virginia Academy of Sleep Medicine (VASM). Dr. Robert
Vorona, the medical director and member of the Division since 2002, is
the first president of the VASM. Dr. Ware is a member of the Board of
Directors.
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