News Release

April 2, 2008

Chris DeFrancesco, 860-679-3914
e-mail: cdefrancesco@uchc.edu

Pulmonary Medicine Physician Joins Health Center

Dr. Jennifer Kanaan Specializes in Sleep Disorders in Women, Children

FARMINGTON, CONN. – Jennifer Papa Kanaan, M.D., is now seeing patients in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and at the UConn Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Kanaan, who graduated from the UConn School of Medicine, sees patients with both pulmonary and sleep disorders. Her areas of interest include sleep disorders in women, children, and teens, as well as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“We see insomnia and other sleep problems more often in women than in men,” Kanaan says. “Adolescents tend not to report sleep disorders even though this affects a large number of teenagers. Because we as a society generally don’t make sleep a top health priority, these younger patients tend to accept their sleeplessness as normal, even though it often can indicate a treatable sleep disorder or perhaps be symptomatic of other medical problems. Sleep is as important as diet and exercise for maintaining good health.”

Kanaan completed a fellowship in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. She did her residency and internship training at Rhode Island Hospital through the Brown University School of Medicine. She is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kanaan back to the Health Center and, with this opportunity, to add her interests and experience to the growing range of services we offer in sleep and pulmonary medicine,” says Daniel McNally, M.D., medical director of the UConn Sleep Disorders Center.

Kanaan is a Manchester native. She now lives in Sandy Hook.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 860-679-7692. More information about the UConn Sleep Disorders Center is available at http://health.uchc.edu/clinicalservices/sleep/index.htm.

Photo: http://www.uchc.edu/ocomm/images/images_news/kanaan.jpg
Caption: Dr. Jennifer Papa Kanaan, an expert in pulmonary medicine and sleep disorders, is now seeing patients at the UConn Health Center.

The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about the UConn Health Center, visit our website at www.uchc.edu.

Note: News professionals are invited to visit the Office of Communications homepage at www.uchc.edu/ocomm/ for archived news releases and other information.