Dedicated care for sleep disorders first began at VCU Health in 1984. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the preeminent professional society for the medical subspecialty of sleep and circadian rhythms medicine in the U.S., was established in 1975, putting VCU Health at the forefront of clinical sleep disorders diagnosis and management since the medical specialty’s early stages.  

The VCU Health Center for Sleep Medicine is the longest-operating sleep clinic in the Richmond area. We have been testing and treating patients since 1984, and since 1998 at our location in Bon Air. We are now on the Stony Point campus and our center boasts state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of conditions like snoring, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia and restless leg syndrome.

The VCU Health Center for Sleep Medicine is fully accredited by the AASM, sees an average of more than 20,000 combined visits per year for both sleep testing and office visits.  

The importance of healthy and adequate sleep is readily apparent and increasingly supported by emerging research from multiple medical disciplines. For instance, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the second most common sleep disorder is, according to the National Sleep Foundation, estimated to be as common as type 2 diabetes. Yet many patients with OSA and other clinically significant sleep disorders remain undiagnosed and, therefore, untreated.  

Access to full-spectrum sleep disorders care remains limited in many regions of the U.S., and indeed the world, but the VCU Health Center for Sleep Medicine stands at the ready, along with our subspecialty colleagues, to provide optimized care to the region and Commonwealth of Virginia. 

We evaluate and treat the entire spectrum of sleep disorders and provide the highest level of sleep medicine testing services in the Central Virginia region. Our services are largely unavailable at most other sleep centers, and we provide referral to additional sleep-related services via liaison with a multitude of other related medical, mental health and dental subspecialties, which speaks volumes to the multidisciplinary nature of sleep disorders medicine. Sleep medicine is team medicine.  

About the Chief

VCUSOM Message from the Chief - About the Chief

About the Chief

Dr. Maha Alattar is the Medical Director of the VCU Sleep Center.  Dr. Alattar received her medical degree from University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Maha Alattar has expertise in treating sleep apnea, stroke, and non-Alzheimer's dementia, among other neurological conditions.

 

 

Maha Alattar, M.D.

Maha Alattar, M.D.

Associate Professor and Medical Director, Sleep Center

Maha Alattar, M.D.

Maha Alattar, M.D.

Associate Professor and Medical Director, Sleep Center

Department of Neurology

Divisions: Adult Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Vascular and Critical Care Neurology

Phone: (804) 828-7929

Email: Maha.Alattar@vcuhealth.org

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Michele L. Nelson, FNP

Michele L. Nelson, FNP

Nurse Practitioner

Michele L. Nelson, FNP

Michele L. Nelson, FNP

Nurse Practitioner

Department of Neurology, Sleep Medicine

Division of Sleep Medicine

Phone: (804) 828-7929

Email: michele.nelson@vcuhealth.org

Kristin L. Phipps, AGACNP

Kristin L. Phipps, AGACNP

Nurse Practitioner

Kristin L. Phipps, AGACNP

Kristin L. Phipps, AGACNP

Nurse Practitioner

Department of Neurology, Sleep Medicine

Division of Sleep Medicine

Phone: (804) 828-7929

Email: Kristin.Phipps@vcuhealth.org

Subhendu Rath, M.D.

Subhendu Rath, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Subhendu Rath, M.D.

Subhendu Rath, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Neurology

Division of Epilepsy

Phone: (804) 828-7929

Email: Subhendu.Rath@vcuhealth.org

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Samuel A. Taylor Jr., M.D.

Samuel A. Taylor Jr., M.D.

Assistant Professor

Samuel A. Taylor Jr., M.D.

Samuel A. Taylor Jr., M.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Neurology

Divisions: Adult Neurology, Sleep Medicine

Phone: (804) 828-7929

Email: samuel.taylor@vcuhealth.org

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