Incoming Fellow Profile – Nataly Vadasz-Chates, MD

Proper sleep is key to improving overall health, and Nataly Vadasz-Chates, MD, is dedicated to ensuring her patients are aware of its benefits. She treats sleep-related conditions to better the wellness of those she serves. And as graduate of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and native Phoenician, she is honored to be joining the College of Medicine – Phoenix’s Sleep Medicine Fellowship.

Beginning in her Pediatrics Residency at Phoenix Children’s, Dr. Vadasz-Chates developed this interest as it quickly became apparent that sleep was the master key to optimizing the health outcomes for her patients and their families.

“As a pediatrician, sleep is a part of my daily conversations. It has been an opportunity to care for patients with various sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias and delayed sleep-wake phase disorders,” Dr. Vadasz-Chates explained. “It has also been an opportunity to promote healthy sleep habits in a society filled with technology, remote work and online distractions that prevent good quality sleep and wellbeing.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, Sleep deficiency is linked to many chronic health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, stroke and obesity. It may also lead to a higher chance of injury — for example, from a fall or drowsiness while driving.

Dr. Vadasz-Chates notes that poor sleep can mimic ADHD, drive school failure, as well as lead to anxiety, depression and high blood pressure.

She has encountered many of these symptoms in the patients she has served. Recognizing the value of appropriate rest and how it helped to curb them is what ultimately led her to pursue the fellowship.

"This fellowship will provide an incomparable opportunity to leverage my experience in pediatrics, expand my training into adult medicine and develop a wide-range of new skills,” Dr. Vadasz-Chates said. “I hope to utilize these skills to improve the sleep and health of the patients that I may have the privilege to care for throughout their lifespan.”