The Insomnia and Sleep Institute of Arizona is staffed by sleep specialists who focus exclusively on sleep medicine. Home to the center that was voted to have the “Top Doc” 5 years in a row, we are setting the standard for sleep medicine in Arizona thanks to the dedication, expertise, and skill of our staff. When your sleep medicine center has unprecedented staffing levels, that means you can enjoy access to three sleep specialists, a clinical psychologist focused on sleep medicine, and a suite of teams like respiratory therapists and medical assistants. So, who exactly are we? We would love to introduce just a few of our team members.
Arnold Lee, FNP-C, is a sleep medicine nurse practitioner and family nurse practitioner. He is committed to sleep medicine, and has been ever since he began his career in the Philippines as an Internal Medicine physician. The Insomnia and Sleep Institute is now home to Lee and his incredible knowledge.
Sleep Specialists from Around the World
Many patients ask Lee why he is not a practicing physician now, but it is nearly impossible in many cases to transfer M.D. credentials to other countries. Lee has re-booted his medical education in the U.S. while concurrently practicing as an advanced practice registered nurse coupled with AASM Sleep Medicine training—a type of training reserved just for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants. As you can imagine, his wealth of experience and dedication to patient care make him a phenomenal member of our team.
You might also meet Anne Eure, PA-C, MSc in Sleep Medicine, during your journey at The Insomnia and Sleep Institute. This sleep medicine physician assistant is dedicated to lifelong learning. She followed up two undergraduate degrees in Nebraska with a Master’s in Sleep Medicine at the University of Oxford, England. Combining her physician assistant training with comprehensive sleep medicine training makes her an invaluable member of our team. Her trainings include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. Eure is especially passionate about sleep disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, and the circadian rhythm.
Your Team of Experts
What happens when the student becomes the teacher—or the patient the provider in this case? Ask Amelia Adames-Zamora, who began her relationship at The Insomnia and Sleep Institute as a patient in 2015. Four years later, she joined the center as an FNP in 2019. She specializes in optimizing sleep health and clinical management awareness—from the patient’s perspective, of course. You can find her at both our Gilbert and Scottsdale locations where she remains dedicated to ensuring the patient fully understands their diagnosis and treatment plan.
Adames-Zamora has a wide-reaching background. Hailing from New York City with undergraduate training in Cultural Anthropology, she made her way to Arizona to graduate from the Banner Health Nurse Fellows Program followed by a Master of Science in Nursing and today she is a family nurse practitioner. Although she began her medical career in primary care, she quickly became aware of how critical sleep health is to virtually every other facet of well-being. She prioritizes the best outcomes and quality of life for every patient, stressing that for her this is not a career but a lifestyle.
Leaders in Sleep Medicine
The Insomnia and Sleep Institute is home to three M.D.s, but there’s another kind of doctor in the house, too. Kelly Kriestch, PhD, is our behavior sleep medicine psychologist, and works closely with Dr. Ruchir P. Patel, M.D., as well as all sleep specialists at the center. Dr. Kriestch played a pivotal role in the creation of the behavioral sleep medicine program, which focuses on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.
Dr. Kriestch’s background includes serving as a clinical psychologist, an Associate Professor in Psychology at Northern Arizona University, and was previously the coordinator for a graduate program in Applied Health Psychology. His specialties include chronic pain/illness, primary psychology care, pre-surgical evaluations for those being considered for neuromodulation or orthopedic surgery—and behavioral sleep medicine, of course.
These are just some of the providers you might meet at The Insomnia and Sleep Institute, where patient success and safety is always our top priority. To learn more about sleep disorders and treatments, schedule a consultation with The Insomnia and Sleep Institute. Simply complete the online form right now, or you can give us a call at (480) 745-3547.
