Second ALS treatment center of excellence opens in New Jersey
Neptune clinic certified by ALS Association for quality of care, disease research
A certified care center of excellence for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has opened in Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
The ALS Center is part of the medical center’s Dr. Robert H. Harris Neuroscience Treatment Center in Neptune, New Jersey.
“Our multidisciplinary team is dedicated to providing patients diagnosed with ALS with the unique, comprehensive care they require,” Mary Sedarous, MD, medical director of the ALS Center, said in a press release from Hackensack Meridian Health. “We understand that an ALS diagnosis impacts patients and their families alike. As such, our care is personalized to take into account the many complexities associated with this disease.”
The center’s recognition by the ALS Association and its collaboration with that group and the Northeast ALS Consortium allows it to share research and best care practices with professionals nationwide.
Certified ALS centers of excellence offer care across medical specialties
It is the second care center in New Jersey recognized by the ALS Association as a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence, meaning it meets the association’s requirements for quality in patient care and disease research. The state’s other center is part of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.
“Our nationally-recognized ALS Center brings together different specialists in one all-inclusive visit, providing its patients and families with a comprehensive and convenient health care experience,” said Vito Buccellato, president and chief hospital executive at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
The center works to improve the day-to-day life quality of ALS patients in central and south New Jersey. It offers individualized treatment that targets patients’ physical, cognitive, and emotional needs, as well as family support.
Among its services are infusion therapy, neurological and neuromuscular evaluation, nursing care, nutritional guidance and support, ALS treatments, and physical and occupational therapy. Other services include swallow and speech therapy, social services assistance, augmentative and alternative communication evaluation, and information about clinical trials that could be relevant for a given patient.
It also collaborates with the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation, a nonprofit whose services aim for a better of life for people with ALS and their families.
“Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s services are truly world-class, and growing, and the ALS Center is a great example of this excellence,” said Kenneth N. Sable, MD, regional president of the Southern Market, Hackensack Meridian Health.
Hackensack Meridian also runs an ALS treatment center at Hackensack University Medical Center.
In addition to ALS, the Neuroscience Treatment Center in Neptune provides care for neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis, stroke, and epilepsy. It also houses the Center for Memory and Healthy Aging.
For more information about the ALS Center or to make an appointment, call 732-776-3307.
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