WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (April 15, 2015) – The Seizure Diagnostic Center at White Plains Hospital has once again been recognized as a Level 4 Epilepsy Center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest-level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.
This marks the fifth year that White Plains Hospital has been honored with this redesignation.
The Seizure Center at White Plains Hospital, under the direction of Dr. Marcelo Lancman and Dr. Olgica Laban-Grant, is the only Level 4 specialized center in the area and utilizes advanced technology to provide the basis for accurate assessments of various seizure disorders and innovative treatment options including investigational drug trials and management of women with epilepsy during pregnancy.
“Seizure disorders, while challenging, can be controlled thanks to several new therapies and devices,” said Dr. Lancman, “These treatments have made a tremendous impact on patients, helping them lead healthy and fulfilling lives.” Dr. Laban-Grant added, “We are proud to have to have a nationally recognized program and to be able to offer such a high level of care to our patients.”
The Center’s team is made up of neurologists specializing in epilepsy, neurosurgery, and neuropsychology, as well as nurse clinicians, pharmacologists, psychiatrists, educational counselors, social workers and technologists. Each patient is evaluated individually and a variety of treatment options are discussed with the patient and his or her personal physician. Several hundred patients receive treatment each year at this Center.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, it is estimated that approximately three million people of all ages in the United States have been diagnosed with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a general term indicating a tendency to have recurrent seizures. Seizures are momentary disturbances in brain function, which cause the nerves and neurons that control muscles to malfunction, producing a variety of effects including loss of consciousness, convulsions, falling down and more. Because seizure disorders bring a range of unique challenges, educational, social and psychological counseling are essential components of the White Plains Hospital Epilepsy Program. The program stresses that the patient discusses not only medical problems with the staff, but non-medical problems as well.
About White Plains Hospital
White Plains Hospital (WPH) is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Centers of Excellence include the Dickstein Cancer Center, The William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center and The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center. The Hospital’s Flanzer Emergency Department is the busiest in Westchester County, seeing over 55,000 visits a year. White Plains Hospital is the only community hospital in Westchester County to perform lifesaving emergency & elective angioplasty in its Joan and Alan Herfort, M.D. Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and earned its recognition as a Top Performer for Key Quality Measures® in 2013. The Hospital is also an twelve-time winner of the Consumer Choice Award, an honor given to the nation’s top hospitals by the National Research Corporation, and received Magnet® designation in 2012 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). In 2014 White Plains Hospital received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades®, given to only 5% of hospitals nationwide. White Plains Hospital is a member of the Montefiore Health System. For additional information, visit http://www.wphospital.org.