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I'm Dr. Joe Miranda.
I'm a Pulmonologist and Sleep Specialist here in Auburn.
I work with Sutter Medical Group.
Well, my entry into the medical field
came primarily from my interest in science.
I was always a science geek as a child.
Always liked anything that had to do
with science and technology.
And I couldn't think of anything else
where I could be involved in science
and also be involved with people.
Pulmonology and sleep medicine offer such a broad range
of patient types, and it's fascinating in the way
it affects every other organ system in the body.
Eating's essential to life.
Keeping that function optimized and free of disease
affects quality of life.
We have patients who come and see me who are breathless
and we're able to make things better.
And their ability to function, to be with their family,
to work, is greatly affected by their ability to breathe.
And if we can make that difference,
it's all the better.
Sleep, in particular, is a often discounted issue.
We tend to put it at a lower priority,
but it's an essential function.
It's a third of our life span.
Sleep's functions are to provide rest, healing, restoration--
and if we don't get that, we become dysfunctional.
And so I offer ways to investigate and improve
sleep disorders.
We talk to patients a lot-- talk about their lifestyles
and their habits.
So in that regard we get really into knowing someone
in greater detail, other than just
talking about their symptom.
We get to reason how they live, why they live this way,
what can you do to improve their sleep.
And if there's an organic disorder with their sleep
having to do with sleep breathing, difficulties
like sleep apnea, that in itself is quite easily
remedied from a organic physiological standpoint.
In this day and time, it's very hard
to work as an independent private practitioner.
The costs of health care and the cost of maintaining a practice
are escalating on a day-to-day basis.
And being within Sutter is like being
in a family where you have a huge support
network of specialists, administrators,
to help you do what you do best, which is take care of patients.
So I can't think of any better world or any better
organization to be in other than Sutter Health.