The USF Health ALS Clinic was named a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence by the ALS Association Feb. 2, further validating the Clinic team’s multidisciplinary approach for treating patients suffering with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

The national designation provides a seal of approval for ALS patients and their families seeking care, said Clifton Gooch, MD, professor and chair of the USF Health Department of Neurology and an ALS specialist.

Dr. Tuan Vu, Dr. Clifton Gooch and Dr. Lara Katzin.

“We were able to meet a high bar and had to prove many levels of proficiency in order to qualify,” Dr. Gooch said. “This designation is a formal recognition of the quality of our Center and will greatly help us in securing grants and philanthropy, and further strengthens our relationship with our national peers and the ALS Association.”

The USF Health ALS Clinic opened in 2010 with the help of the ALS Association Florida Chapter who, in conjunction with donors Steve and Jennifer Blume, saw the need for providing all-encompassing care to local ALS patients. Further clinic expansion was made possible when USF Health, the Chapter, and the Chapter’s board member Wendy Bitner campaigned the Florida Legislature for much needed support for this kind of expensive care throughout the state, creating the Bitner-Plante ALS Initiative of Florida, which was passed during the 2013 session and is providing $1 million to expand services at those Florida clinics offering the highest level of comprehensive ALS Care. The funding helped USF Health double the number of patients seen at its ALS Clinic.

With the certification, the USF Health ALS Clinic is among the nation’s top ALS programs, which should help increase awareness for the disease, the Clinic, and the impressive team at USF Health, said Tuan Vu, MD, professor of neurology and director of the USF Health ALS Center.

“Being regarded as among the best in the nation should result in additional research opportunities and support and help us continue to carry out our mission,” Dr. Vu said. “To us, it is not so much a pat on the back but a challenge to do even better. The Center of Excellence designation is a validation of the hard work and dedication of our team in providing the best care possible to patients with ALS.”

Above all, patients benefit most from this designation, said Lara Katzin, MD, assistant professor of neurology and co-director of the USF Health ALS Center.

“This certification helps give us recognition around the state and the nation for providing quality care to ALS patients and their families,” Dr. Katzin said. “It truly validates what we’ve been doing all along.”

“The University of South Florida’s commitment to excellence in ALS care is evidenced by its thorough and thoughtful approach to the multidisciplinary clinic and the integration of community-based care provided by the Florida Chapter,” said Nicole Yarab, director of Certified Center Programs for the ALS Association. “Dr. Vu, Dr. Katzin and the multidisciplinary team truly provide patient-centered care. We are so pleased to have the University of South Florida join our network of Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence.”

“The first step to certification of an ALS Center of Excellence is a recommendation from the clinic’s local ALS Association chapter,” said Kim Hanna, president and CEO of the ALS Association Florida Chapter. “We were so very pleased to make that recommendation for the USF Clinic.  We have worked with their team from the clinic’s inception and know first-hand that ALS patients are in the right place and receiving the very best care when they are here.”

The ALS Association has designated about three dozen Certified Centers of Excellence in the United States. In order to be certified, the USF Health ALS Center had to meet multiple criteria, including providing a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary care, on-site professionals representing the range of specialties ALS patients need, and an active research component, among other requirements. In order to maintain its certification, the USF Health ALS Clinic will undergo a documentation-only review every three years, and an on-site review every five years.

The ALS Association provides certification so as to “ensure that evidence-based care processes that are closely linked to positive outcomes are hard-wired into each individual’s clinic experience.”

Team members at the USF Health ALS Clinic include:

Neurologists: Dr. Clifton L. Gooch, Chairman; Dr. Tuan Vu, Director; Dr. Lara Katzin, Co-Director.

Nursing: Terry McClain, MSN, ARNP; Nichole Jones, LPN.

ALS Clinic Coordinator / EMG Lab Manager: Natalie Tucker, R.NCS.T, R.EEG.T, NRCMA.

ALS Clinic Co-Coordinator / Research Coordinator: Brittany Harvey, BA, NRCMA.

Social Worker and ALS Association Chapter Liaisons: Christine Bright, MSW; Heran Sisay, MA; Michelle Rosado, MSW.

Physical Therapy: Rebecca Edgeworth, PT, DPT, OCS; Kevin Murdoch, PT, DPT, OCS; Angela Stagliano, PT, DPT; Kendall Lynch, PT, DPT, OCS ; Joe Canarela, PT, DPT, OCS.

Occupational Therapy: Cynthia Haddad Cooley, MSOTR/L.

Speech Therapy: Emily Plowman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP; Lauren Tabor, MS, CCC-SLP.

Dietician: Erika Holt, RD; Eman Nakshabendi, RD.

Respiratory Therapy: Doug Persson, MS; Paul Emerson, BS, RRT; Eileen Massey, BS, RRT; Michael Reeser, BS, RRT; Cindy Fairman, BS, RRT.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications