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Green Bay, WI: As Schneider National, a provider of transportation, logistics and intermodal services, has been awarded an American Sleep Apnea Award by the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA.) This award commends Schneider for the implementation of its detection and treatment program aimed at drivers who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

“We wanted to ensure this inaugural award was presented to a company who has gone above and beyond to provide treatment and support to the health and safety of its workforce,” notes Edward Grandi, executive director of ASAA. “The program Schneider implemented was innovative and proactive and has been successful in many ways. We feel it will serve as the example by which all other award recipients will be measured from this point forward.”

The ASAA is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about sleep apnea and to serving people with the disorder. The organization is committed to reducing injury, disability and death from sleep apnea. Schneider’s internal program has generated awareness within the trucking industry and educated drivers about the disorder, which is why the ASAA chose Schneider National as the first recipient of the award.

“Because the symptoms of sleep apnea are dangerous and potentially deadly, we felt it was imperative to create a program aimed at improving the health and safety of our drivers,” says Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and training for Schneider National. “The drivers we determined to be ‘high risk,’ based upon a prescreen questionnaire, were provided with a treatment program. This approach has greatly improved the overall health of these drivers, reduced our healthcare benefits costs and delivered a 30 percent reduction in accident frequency due to driver fatigue.”