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Quote of the Day
In honor of all the hard-working folks who make the trucking industry go around, here’s a trio of quotes on the virtues of effort and going the extra mile:
“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.”
– Author unknown
“Sweat is the cologne of accomplishment.”
– Heywood Hale Broun
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
– Thomas Jefferson |
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Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference: Help for a challenging issue
By Edward Grandi
Truckers and sleep apnea. In the sleep field, the need for treatment of this group is a no-brainer. Truckers tend to be male, middle-aged and overweight, all three being markers for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults.
Addressing OSA in trucking poses at least three challenges. First, the character of the driver himself can present difficulties. He tends to be independent, self-reliant and just a tad suspicious of “big brother” tactics. Second, many truckers, particularly those who work long-haul routes, are often on the road for days, which makes scheduling a sleep study at a clinic a nightmare. The third obstacle is that current regulations prevent truckers diagnosed with OSA from renewing their commercial drivers’ licenses until they can demonstrate compliance with therapy. Further, drivers are now concerned about a proposed regulation to use a fixed Body Mass Index minimum to determine if mandatory screening is required. Given the perceived expense of diagnosis and treatment by truckers, it is no wonder that little progress has been made on this increasingly visible health and safety problem.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is in the process of revising the rules for how DOT certified medical examiners determine if a driver is at risk for OSA or not. The current regulation is still in place and a new rule has not been implemented to replace the old one. The proposed regulation exists now as a guideline for the certified medical examiners to use, but it is not yet the “law of the land.”
Against this backdrop, the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA), the only national voluntary health organization dedicated to public education about sleep apnea and patient support, decided to organize the first ever conference on sleep apnea and trucking. The purpose of the conference is to bring together all of the relevant stakeholders with an interest in this serious issue. This includes trucking company executives and the people within their organizations charged with driver health, safety and human resources, medical examiners, federal agency personnel, insurance companies and the sleep community. ASAA’s goal is to achieve a common level of understanding about OSA and to present new ways to address it in trucking.
To be held May 12 at The Westin BWI near Baltimore, the meeting will have two components. The first will provide a foundation for common understanding of the current status and issues associated with sleep apnea management and trucking. The FMCSA medical director will provide an overview of current and proposed regulations governing sleep apnea and commercial drivers. Other morning presentations offer current data and needed research, the perspective of the certified medical examiner, and legal considerations from an attorney who specializes in defending trucking companies. And so everyone understands the basics of the disease, a leading authority in sleep medicine will present a “Sleep Apnea 101” session.
The afternoon addresses the possibilities and challenges of sleep apnea management programs in operational settings, specifically diagnosis, treatment and monitoring compliance. Starting with the health and safety perspective of a successfully treated and compliant driver, the afternoon session includes presentations of innovative sleep apnea management programs in trucking that are either cost-effective, convenient and/or tailored to trucking’s unique needs.
Building on these talks, executives from Schneider National and J.B. Hunt will discuss the internal decision-making and implementation processes involved in getting a sleep apnea management program off the ground, and a representative from OOIDA will focus on the real-world challenges of putting a program in place for small, independent companies.
While a one-day conference will not address all of the issues associated with sleep apnea and trucking, ASAA plans to continue building consensus among the stakeholders and foster progress toward safer highways for everyone. Visit the conference Web site at www.satc2010.org for more information.
Edward Grandi is executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association.
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