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Cutting the ribbon, from left, on the new ALS Center in spring 2023 are: Brian Walch, vice president of clinical operations, Jersey Shore University Medical Center; Jeff Cline, executive director, ALS Association; Steve Spaulding, director of care services, ALSA Greater Philadelphia Chapter; Dr. Mary Sedarous, ALS Center medical director; Ellen Anne Gall, ALS Center; Dr. Alan Colicchio, chair of neurology, JSUMC, and medical director, Neuroscience Care Transformation Service, Hackensack Meridian Health, Southern Market; and Kathy Valentino, social worker with the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation. - HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Cutting the ribbon, from left, on the new ALS Center in spring 2023 are: Brian Walch, vice president of clinical operations, Jersey Shore University Medical Center; Jeff Cline, executive director, ALS Association; Steve Spaulding, director of care services, ALSA Greater Philadelphia Chapter; Dr. Mary Sedarous, ALS Center medical director; Ellen Anne Gall, ALS Center; Dr. Alan Colicchio, chair of neurology, JSUMC, and medical director, Neuroscience Care Transformation Service, Hackensack Meridian Health, Southern Market; and Kathy Valentino, social worker with the Joan Dancy and PALS Foundation. - HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian’s new ALS Center is an ‘all-inclusive visit’
Dawn Furnas//April 13, 2023//
ALS patients now have a one-stop resource on the Jersey Shore.
Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune recently opened the ALS Center’s new office in the Dr. Robert H. Harris Neuroscience Treatment Center, according to an April 10 announcement.
The ALS Center provides comprehensive services – such as physical and speech therapy, nutrition consultation and physician assessment – that previously were offered in multiple locations, a Hackensack Meridian representative told NJBIZ. The new center consolidates all of these offerings into one space, located near the outpatient service entrance.
The facility is one of only two ALS Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence in New Jersey; the other is at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease – “is a progressive, debilitating disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy. ALS often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis,” according to Hackensack Meridian.
Dr. Mary Sedarous, ALS Center medical director, said this diagnosis affects not only patients, but also their families. “As such, our care is personalized to take into account the many complexities associated with this disease process.”
Vito Buccellato, president and chief hospital executive of Jersey Shore University Medical Center, explained that the “ALS Center brings together different specialists in one all-inclusive visit, providing its patients and families with a comprehensive and convenient health care experience.”
The ALS Center also works with the ALS Association and the Northeast ALS consortium, exchanging research and best practices with other leading ALS clinics.
The Dr. Robert H. Harris Neuroscience Treatment Center – a $2.2 million facility that opened in January – treats patients for several other neurological diseases and conditions, including multiple sclerosis, stroke, epilepsy, pediatric neurology, and headaches and migraines, among others.
In January, Healthgrades named Jersey Shore University Medical Center one of America’s 250 Best Hospitals.
