Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners (ASAP) was formed in 2014, when a group of sleep apnea patients gathered to create a patient community forum. They served on special committees, participated in grant opportunities, and wrote educational blogs focused on sleep apnea. In 2018, several members of this forum established ASAP, a national nonprofit advocacy organization. This organization is dedicated to serving those living with sleep-disordered breathing, or who have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and raising awareness of the needs of sleep apnea patients.
Patients, researchers, and healthcare professionals led the organization until 2022 when President & CEO Monica Mallampalli, PhD, was invited to lead ASAP. Dr. Mallampalli is a trained scientist, policy advocate, and patient with sleep apnea. She is dedicated to ensuring that information, screening and treatment options, and health care policies benefit patients and improve their health outcomes.
“We recognized the vacuum created by the lack of sleep apnea patient voices, and we knew there was a vital need to not only support those currently living with sleep apnea, but also encourage screening and diagnosis for those who aren’t aware they are living with this serious disease,” said Dr. Mallampalli. “Our vision is to remain a patient-centered organization while making sleep apnea a national priority through education, awareness, and advocacy.”
ASAP is now a network consisting of community patient leaders, medical and scientific advisors, and alliance partners with shared goals and values. ASAP also includes a corporate council of industry partners committed to building advocacy alliances.
The organization’s mission is to promote and advocate for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and management for optimal health for those who suffer from sleep apnea.
Priorities in carrying out this mission include:
- Increasing public awareness and education around sleep apnea as a serious chronic disease and its connection to other chronic conditions
- Fostering patient engagement and education to encourage self-advocacy
- Driving policy change to support access to care and deliver meaningful benefits to patients
- Educating healthcare professionals about patient experiences so they can deliver optimal care
ASAP supports its mission with continued commitment to providing patients with reliable, up-to-date online resources. The team ensures screening, diagnosis, treatment, and lifestyle management information remains accurate and accessible. ASAP empowers patients with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health. Sleep experts and health care professionals actively engage with the community through question and answer (Q&A) sessions, webinars, and educational blogs.
In 2024, ASAP launched Sleep Apnea Education Week (SAEW). It is an annual social media campaign that focuses on raising public awareness and understanding of sleep apnea as a chronic disease. SAEW, held each April, is an opportunity for ASAP to highlight partnerships, spark conversations, connect patients with resources and support, and help patients, caregivers, and family members access necessary care.
Recently, ASAP announced its partnership with the Global Sleep Apnea Support Community (GSASC), the largest patient-led online community on Facebook, with over 90,000 followers. This new partnership reflects the organizations’ shared mission; to improve the lives of people living with sleep apnea by expanding access to reliable accurate information, strengthening patient support networks, and elevating public understanding of a widely underdiagnosed and undertreated condition.
Learn more and get involved by following ASAP on their social channels @apneapartners and visiting www.apneapartners.org. ASAP is always looking for community leaders who are interested in sharing their stories about diagnosis, treatment and how they have managed living with sleep apnea. Join ASAP in its mission to make sleep apnea a national priority!