WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Alejandro Chediak, MD, received the 2009 Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

“Dr. Chediak is an accomplished sleep specialist whose dedication to seeking appropriate solutions for people suffering from sleep disorders makes him a true patient advocate,” said Clete Kushida, MD, AASM president. “He is committed to helping patients overcome their sleep problems and thus improving their overall quality of life. Dr. Chediak’s work has enhanced the public’s understanding of the importance of sleep and of consulting with a sleep specialist for a suspected sleep problem. I congratulate Dr. Chediak on receiving the Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award, and I commend him for his many years of service to the field of sleep medicine.”
 
Dr. Chediak received the award on June 8 in Seattle, Wash., at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
 
Dr. Chediak is chief of the Sleep Disorders Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., medical director of the Miami Sleep Disorders Center in South Miami and associate professor of medicine at Mount Sinai. He also served as chief of the sleep medicine fellowship training program at Mount Sinai. Dr. Chediak is a past president of the AASM, most recently serving as a board liaison to the Accreditation Committee and as the AASM alternate delegate to the American Medical Association House of Delegates.
 
Dr. Chediak received a medical degree from the University of Dominica School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Louisiana State University Medical Center and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Medical Center.
 
The Mark O. Hatfield Public Policy Award, established in 1996, acknowledges an individual who has developed public policy that positively affects the healthy sleep of all Americans. This contribution is unique, yet vital, to the advancement of the field. Retired United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.) has continually supported sleep medicine initiatives and policy. His work on behalf of the field has been instrumental in increasing NIH funding for sleep, increasing public awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), establishing the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, and supporting the nationally recognized sleep disorders research at the Oregon Health Science University. Senator Hatfield also chaired the transportation appropriations subcommittee, and in that capacity he introduced the driver fatigue initiative, which passed in 1995. 
 
SLEEP 2009 is a four-day scientific meeting featuring an international body of more than 5,500 leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine. 

AASM is a professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of sleep medicine and sleep-related research.

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