New York, NY (February 5, 2020) – The Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) is proud to announce that fifty outstanding Huntington’s disease (HD) care facilities are being awarded the designation of HDSA Centers of Excellence for 2020.
The 2020 HDSA Centers of Excellence program expanded to 50 Centers from 47 in 2019, and from just 20 in 2015. The four new Centers of Excellence are: Henry Ford Hospital (Michigan), Stony Brook University Hospital (New York), University of Kansas Medical Center, and the University of Miami. The HDSA Centers of Excellence are multi-disciplinary care teams with expertise in Huntington’s disease that share an exemplary commitment to providing comprehensive care.
The strategic expansion of the Center of Excellence program allows HDSA to increase access to expert HD clinical care and clinical trial opportunities to more families across the United States. With new Centers in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, and New York HDSA now offers care locations in 33 States plus the District of Columbia. This year, HDSA will be awarding a total of $1,550,000 to the Centers of Excellence program.
“We are deeply committed to helping families with HD access experienced care,” said Louise Vetter, HDSA’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “The expansion of the HDSA Center of Excellence program to fifty clinical care centers helps reduce the distance many families have to travel to find comprehensive HD services and increases access to the life changing treatment and research opportunities that drive us forward towards finding a cure for this disease.”
The HDSA Centers of Excellence provide an elite team approach to Huntington’s disease care and research. Patients benefit from expert neurologists, psychiatrists, therapists, counselors and other professionals who have extensive experience working with families affected by HD and who work collaboratively to help families plan the best HD care program throughout the course of the disease. Applications to become an HDSA Center of Excellence are open to all clinics in the United States who share HDSA’s commitment to high-quality, comprehensive care and access to clinical research.
“The growth of the HDSA Center of Excellence program has been nothing short of amazing. The Centers provide crucial multidisciplinary care, opportunities to participate in clinical research, and education for the medical and non-medical community,” said Dr. Donald Higgins, HDSA Board member, Chair of HDSA’s Center Programs and Education Advisory Committee and National Director of Neurology for the Veteran Health Administration. “Kudos to HDSA for the unwavering support of this important program and to the Center Program and Education Advisory Committee tasked with reviewing applications for designation!”
Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person’s physical and mental abilities during their prime working years and has no cure. Every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene that causes HD. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the disease. The symptoms of HD are described as having, ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s – simultaneously.
The Huntington’s Disease Society of America is the premier nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by HD. From community services and education to advocacy and research, HDSA is the world’s leader in providing help for today, hope for tomorrow for people with HD and their families. Support for the 2020 HDSA Centers of Excellence was made possible in part by the generosity of the Griffin Foundation.
To learn more about Huntington’s disease and the work of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, visit www.HDSA.org or call (800) 345-HDSA.
2020 HDSA Center of Excellence grantees are listed below alphabetically:
- Albany Medical College (NY)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (MA)
- Cleveland Clinic (OH)
- Columbia Health Sciences/NYS Psychiatric Institute (NY)
- Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (NH)
- Duke University (NC)
- Emory University (GA)
- Georgetown University (DC)
- Hennepin County Medical Center (MN)
- Henry Ford Hospital (MI)
- Indiana University
- Johns Hopkins University (MD)
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Northwestern University (IL)
- Ochsner Health System (LA)
- Ohio State University
- OSF-Illinois Neurological Institute
- Rocky Mountain Movement Disorders Clinic (CO)
- Rush University Medical Center (IL)
- Sanford Health (ND)
- Stanford University (CA)
- Stony Brook University Hospital (NY)
- University of Alabama, Birmingham
- University of Buffalo (NY)
- University of California, Davis Medical Center
- University of California, Irvine
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of Colorado
- University of Florida
- University of Iowa
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- University of Louisville (KY)
- University of Miami (FL)
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (PA)
- University of Rochester (NY)
- University of South Carolina School of Medicine
- University of South Florida
- University of Texas Health Science Center- Houston
- University of Utah
- University of Vermont, Frederick Binter Center for Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington (WA)
- University of Wisconsin
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center (TN)
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Washington University School of Medicine (MO)
Level 1 Partner HD Clinics
- Kaiser Permanente (CA)
- Oregon Health Sciences University
- Cole Neuroscience Center, University of Tennessee Medical Center
- University of Tennessee, Erlanger Medical Center
- University of Mississippi Medical Center
- University of South Alabama
For more information about HDSA’s Centers of Excellence program, please visit www.HDSA.org/coe.
MEDIA CONTACT
Christopher Cosentino
Huntington’s Disease Society of America
Director of Marketing & Communications
Phone: (212) 242-1968 x229
Email: ccosentino@hdsa.org
