NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., November 9, 2018 --- Nearly 70 percent of the people who need specialty
epilepsy care in Orange County have no access to it. To address this crisis in care,
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced today a $1 million gift
from philanthropists Nancy and Bill Thompson to significantly expand services
to Orange County residents who have little to no options for affordable
health care.
Collaborating with Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Hoag will efficiently
expand access to outpatient services and provide comprehensive epilepsy
services at the clinic and beyond, making possible an estimated 300 patient
visits per year for under- or uninsured local patients.
David Millett, M.D., Ph.D., program director of the Hoag Epilepsy Program, will provide medical consultations and services at Lestonnac Free Clinic
along with a dedicated nurse practitioner. The expanded services will
also include access to
epilepsy surgery, vagus nerve stimulation treatment (VNS),
clinical research studies and other definitive treatments to address a population that had
no options for advanced care.
“As an accomplished neurologist who specializes in epileptology,
Dr. Millett is passionate about helping patients live a seizure-free life
through a combination of minimally invasive surgical techniques, medication
management and dietary therapy,”
Robert T. Braithwaite, Hoag’s president and CEO, said. “This gift from Nancy and Bill Thompson -- the latest in
their remarkable legacy of generosity -- will enable many others to benefit
from his expert care.”
Dr. Millett said the need to reach more people with Hoag’s epilepsy
services is urgent. “Epilepsy is the fourth-most common neurological
problem, affecting more than 3 million Americans,” he explained.
“Thanks to the Thompsons’ donation, we will be able to give
more individuals access to quality care that is tailored to their individual
needs, which is critical to the management of this condition.”
Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute’s Hoag Epilepsy Program offers comprehensive treatment through a patient-centered,
integrated approach with a
multidisciplinary team of specialists. Utilizing the best in evidence-based practice, state-of-the-art technology
and advanced research to be a leading resource for epilepsy patients and
their caregivers in Southern California, Hoag is a designated Level 3
Epilepsy Center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC).
For more information, visit
hoag.org/neurosciences.
ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery
network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 30,000 inpatients
and 425,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals
– Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which opened in 1952, and Hoag Hospital
Irvine, which opened in 2010 – in addition to eight health centers
and 11 urgent care centers. Hoag is a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers
a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes
providing specialized services in the following areas:
cancer,
heart and vascular,
neurosciences,
women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate,
Hoag Orthopedic Institute, which consists of an orthopedic hospital and two ambulatory surgical centers.
In 2013, Hoag entered into an alliance with St. Joseph Health to further
expand health care services in the Orange County community, known as St.
Joseph Hoag Health. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals
in the 2018 - 2019
U.S. News & World Report, andBecker’s Healthcare named Hoag as one of the 2018 “100 Great Hospitals in America”
– a designation Hoag has received five times. For an unprecedented
23 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s
best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit
www.hoag.org for more information.
ABOUT THE PICKUP FAMILY NEUROSCIENCES INSTITUTE
Delivering a personalized, integrated approach using best-practice guidelines,
the most advanced technology, and integration of medical specialists in
the most appropriate facilities, the
Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute (PFNI) at Hoag provides the highest quality care for patients with brain and spine disorders
including stroke, aneurysms and vascular malformations, brain tumors,
epilepsy, movement disorders, memory and cognitive disorders, pain, minimally
invasive spine surgery, multiple sclerosis, addiction medicine and sleep
disorders, as well as the mind-body interface of behavioral health. Several
of Hoag’s PFNI programs have received high acclaim, including the
stroke program at Hoag, which was the first hospital in Orange County
and the second in California to be named a Certified Comprehensive Stroke
Center by DNV GL Healthcare. It was awarded the American Stroke Association’s
Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement for stroke
care. And as one of the first centers in the U.S. to offer the most advanced
radiosurgical treatment system available, Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, Hoag’s brain tumor program is the largest in Orange
County and is also among the top volume programs in the western United
States. The epilepsy program is an accredited Level 3 center. The PFNI’s
memory and cognitive disorders program is nationally recognized.
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