Epilepsy Center Recognized as Level 4 Center by NAEC |
Updated: 4/20/2022 |
The James H. Cummings Foundation Epilepsy Monitoring Center at Oishei Children’s Hospital (OCH) has been recognized by The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) as a Level 4 Center for 2022-2023. The Epilepsy Monitoring Center has received this accreditation consecutively since 2012.
A Level 4 epilepsy center provides the more complex forms of intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring, as well as more extensive medical, neuropsychological, and psychosocial treatment. Level 4 centers also offer a complete evaluation for epilepsy surgery, including intracranial electrodes and a broad range of surgical procedures for epilepsy.
The state-of-the-art 12-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Center is the only center of its kind in Western New York, offering a broad range of evaluation services and sophisticated therapies for children and adults suffering from seizures. Staffed by board certified pediatric and adult epileptologists who are faculty in the department of neurology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, the Epilepsy Monitoring Center specializes in the comprehensive diagnosis and management of patients of all ages with refractory epilepsy. Evaluation and monitoring by the team is crucial in arriving at accurate diagnoses, and providing individualized, cutting-edge management for such patients.
Complex cases of refractory epilepsy are presented weekly, in collaboration with Gates Vascular Institute (GVI), at the multidisciplinary patient management conference. Select cases are referred for invasive surgical evaluation, such as SEEG (stereo electroencephalography), which is performed at GVI, to identify areas of the brain where seizures originate.
The Epilepsy Monitoring Center’s mission is to reduce the seizure burden, with a goal of obtaining seizure freedom and improving the quality of life of all patients afflicted with epilepsy.
NAEC is a non-profit association with a membership of more than 260 specialized epilepsy centers in the United States. NAEC published its first iteration of its Guidelines for Essential Services, Personnel, and Facilities in Specialized Epilepsy Centers in 1990. The Association continues its work to develop standards of care and promote their adoption by epilepsy centers through its accreditation program. NAEC pursues an active agenda, educating public and private insurers, policymakers, and government officials about the complexities of and need for patient access to specialized epilepsy services.
For more information on the James H. Cummings Foundation Epilepsy Monitoring Center at OCH, visit www.kaleidahealth.org/epilepsy.