The staff at Fort HealthCare (FHC) has announced that a pulmonary and sleep medicine department will soon open with focus on providing specialty lung care.

According to information released by the hospital, the care will come under the direction of pulmonologists, and will provide patients with lung care provided by specialists in the facility’s network.   

As stated in the release, Fort HealthCare Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine will offer diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care for lung conditions, including asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, and pulmonary hypertension, among others. In addition, the release noted, “as prevalence and awareness of sleep disorders have grown, expanding FHC’s sleep medicine services is very timely. The new department will address such issues as snoring, insomnia, restless legs, unrefreshed sleep, grogginess, and narcolepsy.”

The release notes that Raed Hamed, MD, and Mouhammed Rihawi, MD, will be leading the pulmonary and sleep medicine medical practice, further stating that Hamed completed his residency in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pa., and Rihawi completed his residency in pulmonary medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Two additional team members — Tom Freichels, APNP, and Angela Monzon, APNP, — bring expertise to the department, with both showing many years of experience as advanced practice providers. They each are looking forward to joining the FHC community, the release read.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Hamed and Dr. Rihawi to Fort HealthCare. Our community has a great need for pulmonary and sleep medicine services as access into this specialty has been difficult. They will bring a high level of expertise to our community, eliminating the need for our patients to travel to receive this critical medical care,” Michael Anderson, MD, president and CEO of Fort HealthCare, was quoted as saying in the release. 

To learn more about Fort HealthCare pulmonary and sleep medicine or to schedule an appointment with immediate availability, visit FortHealthCare.com/Service/Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine/.