ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress
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Members of the Wake Forest Baptist Health Multidisciplinary ALS Clinic team and members of the "Catfish" Chapter Care Services staff join Medical Director, James Caress, M.D., and Chapter President, Jerry Dawson as Mr. Dawson presents a plaque to Dr. Caress signifying that the Wake Forest Baptist Health ALS Clinic has, once again, been deemed a Certified Center of Excellence by the National ALS Association. Mrs. Norris Wilson, a North Carolinian living with ALS and the "Guest of Honor" is also pictured on the front row |
The Wake Forest Baptist Health Clinic consistently provides the highest level of care for people living with ALS
Winston-Salem. NC (November 19, 2014)-The ALS Association, along with its Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter, has again recognized the Wake Forest Baptist Health ALS Clinic as a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence. The Wake Forest clinic continues to exhibit the highest levels of established national standards of care in the management of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
In an event held today in Winston-Salem at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation facility, Jerry Dawson, President of the Chapter, presented Dr. James Caress and his care team with a plaque recognizing it as a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence.
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. There is currently no cure for the disease.
The ALS Association’s Certified Center Program staff designs, implements and monitors programs based upon national standards of best-practice care in the management of the disease. The ALS Association offers the Certified Treatment Center of Excellence designation for those institutions that meet the rigorous eligibility criteria, which includes: diversity of professional expertise in ALS, access to coordinated, multidisciplinary care, a strong, ongoing relationship with the local ALS Association chapter, and evidence of active participation in ALS research. This designation assures people living with ALS and families that these centers offer the highest level of evidence-based, quality care and services.
“The multidisciplinary team here is second to none and I am honored to recognize them for their commitment to providing the highest standard of care to all of the people battling ALS that they serve,” said Jerry Dawson, Chapter President.
Research has shown that multidisciplinary care, or the practice of having physicians and other healthcare professionals collaborate to provide the most comprehensive treatment plan for patients, helps people with ALS live with a higher quality of life and actually prolongs life in many cases. The Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter of the ALS Association has a long history of supporting multidisciplinary care, through financial support as well as having Chapter staff attend all clinics as a part of the care team.
“We are pleased to have met the standards for maintaining our status as a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence,” said Dr. James Caress, “and we are thankful for the continued financial support from the Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter; we could not do this without them.”
