CLEVELAND CLINIC LOU RUVO CENTER FOR BRAIN HEALTH
EXPANDS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SERVICES
New Doctor, Social Worker Advance Research Efforts, Spur First MS Clinical Trial
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is expanding its multiple sclerosis (MS) services with the addition of two new staff members – MS specialist Le Hua, M.D., and clinical social worker Joanne Fairchild, L.C.S.W. The expanded team will allow the center to serve more MS patients and their families, while enhancing research opportunities that may one day lead to innovative new therapies or even a cure.
“The expansion of the MS program is integral to our mission to fight neurocognitive disorders,” said Jeffrey L. Cummings, M.D., ScD, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. “We recognize that MS is an area of need in the greater Southern Nevada region and expanding our team with Dr. Le Hua and Joanne Fairchild will not only allow us to address the urgent care needs of patients with multiple sclerosis, but it will also provide us the opportunity to launch more MS clinical trials and increase our ability to find new treatments.”
Beginning Aug. 1, Dr. Hua will join Timothy West, M.D., Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program, and start seeing patients at the center. By collaborating extensively with staff at the Mellen Center at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, the center’s MS program offers a full continuum of treatment options. On-site capabilities include infusion therapy and advanced (3-T) MR imaging. Scans performed in Las Vegas are securely sent to expert neuroradiologists in Cleveland for interpretation.
Patients in the MS program also have access to the center’s physical, occupational and cognitive therapy program to help them manage their conditions. The services are seamlessly integrated in a comprehensive, patient-centered approach.
“The patient-centered approach, passion and dedication of the staff attracted me to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health,” said Dr. Hua. “It’s an exciting time to work in the MS field. In just the past few years, our understanding of the disease has grown and through the ambitious research here in Las Vegas, we are hopeful that many more therapies will become available.”
Dr. Hua comes to the center after completing a fellowship in neuro-immunology and MS at the Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. She has experience working on clinical trials and using advanced MRI neuroimaging to better understand cognitive functioning in MS. Her expertise will be instrumental to growing the research program, as well as the launch of the MS program’s first clinical trial later this year.
Fairchild comes to the center from Harmony Health Care, where she assisted patients with MS and other autoimmune diseases. She will provide counseling to address the psychological needs of patients and their families.
“Supporting our patient families is central to our philosophy of care,” said Dr. Cummings. “I am very pleased that we are expanding our family services.”
The expansion of the MS program at the center was made possible through a generous grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
For more information on the programs at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, visit ClevelandClinic.org/BrainHealth or call 702-483-6000.
About Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health:
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health provides state-of-the-art care for cognitive disorders and for the family members of those who suffer from them. The physicians and staff at the Center for Brain Health continuously work towards the development of early diagnosis and the advancement of knowledge concerning treatment of cognitive disorders, which could one day delay or prevent their onset. Patients receive expert diagnosis and treatment at the Center for Brain Health, which offers a multidisciplinary patient-focused approach to diagnosis and treatment, promoting collaboration across all care providers, offering patients a complete continuum of care and infusing education and research into all that it does. The facility, designed by Frank Gehry, houses clinical space, a diagnostic center, neuroimaging rooms, physician offices, laboratories devoted to clinical research and the Keep Memory Alive Event Center. For more information, visit http://www.clevelandclinic.org/brainhealth.
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. More than 3,000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. The Cleveland Clinic health system includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, more than 75 Northern Ohio outpatient locations, including 16 full-service Family Health Centers, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and, currently under construction, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2012, there were 5.1 million outpatient visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 157,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 130 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.