December 15, 2008

Duke ALS Clinic Certified by The ALS Association,
Affiliated with One of the Best Hospitals in the U.S. 

The Duke ALS Clinic, where more than 300 people with ALS receive compassionate care from a multidisciplinary team of experts who strive to maximize the quality of life for those living with the disease, has been certified by The ALS Association as a Center of Excellence^SM.

The Duke ALS Clinic multidisciplinary team includes (L-R) Sejal Mehta (respiratory therapist), Linda Cates (PT), Susan Steves (dietitian), Richard Bedlack (medical director), Jennifer Haynes (SLP), Meredith Gaylord (SLP), Suzanne Gilroy (Jim “Catfish” Hunter care services coordinator and master social worker), Candace Boyette (nurse practitioner), Stacey Asnani (clinic coordinator and  clinical social worker). Not pictured: Fay Tripp (OT), Tyler Story (neuropsychologist), Kevin Caves (assistive technology specialist), Dan Harrison (equipment specialist), Andrea Andrea Johnson (respiratory therapist), Elisa Collins (PT) and Sandra Dawson (RN).

"I am thrilled that The ALS Association has selected the Duke ALS Clinic to be their 33rd certified center,” said Bedlack, who, in addition to providing care to people with ALS, is involved in increasing awareness of the disease through advocacy and sharing his ALS expertise with other physicians.

“The partnership with The ALS Association solidifies our clinic's ability to provide state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic options for our PALS (people with ALS),” Bedlack continued. “It will help us stay on the cutting edge as these options change and improve, toward the day when we finally have a cure."

Duke Hospital was named one of America’s best hospitals in 2008 by U.S. News & World Report.

“It is great to have the Duke ALS Clinic as one of the Certified Centers,” said Sharon Matland, vice president of patient services of The Association. “The clinic has done a wonderful job in meeting our rigorous guidelines for offering the gold standard in ALS care.”

The Association’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter in North Carolina works very closely with the clinic and has helped the clinic grow from one physician and physical therapist to include a nurse practitioner, an additional physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapists, assistive technology specialist, a neuropsychologist, respiratory therapist, equipment vendor and nurse. The team received a major boost when a full time coordinator and social worker joined the staff.

Jerry Dawson, president and CEO of The ALS Association’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter in North Carolina.

People with ALS who receive care from the clinic receive the latest disease modifying therapies to slow progression, are provided a wide range of options for dealing with symptoms, and because the clinic has become active in ALS research, are given the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. 

The clinic, always on the lookout for new therapies, is conducting its own ALS pilot research program which has included a drug trial (levetiracetam), translational biomarker study (HDAC4), and epidemiology studies (using the National Registry of Veterans with ALS). As members of the Northeast ALS Consortium and the national ALS Research Group, the clinic has participated in multiple clinical trials.

The mission of The Association’s Center Program is to define, establish and support a national standard of care in the management of ALS. The objective of the program is to encourage and provide that state-of-the-art care. More than one-third of The Association’s Centers of Excellence have been certified in the last two and one-half years.