Pittsburgh, PA, April 4, 2023 – Islam M. Zaydan, MD, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence at the Pittsburgh VA hospital, is set to present the Pittsburgh VA’s comprehensive MS clinic model at the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Healthcare Summit and Expo, August 14-17 in Orlando, Florida. The clinic experience will be presented at the PVA summit as an exemplary model to be followed by other VA hospitals.
The PVA Healthcare Summit is a three-day learning and sharing experience that provides the most updated and vital information, state of the art research and emerging science that can be to use in caring for individuals with spinal cord injury and disease, MS and ALS.
The comprehensive multiple sclerosis clinic at the Pittsburgh VA provides all-inclusive care for veterans with multiple sclerosis; veterans will receive an evaluation by multiple providers in one visit to ensure that all the patient’s needs are addressed. Services that are currently provided at the clinic include neurology, speech/language pathology, cognitive evaluations, physical and occupational therapy, social work, clinical pharmacists, palliative care and neuro-ophthalmology. Teaching opportunities for UPMC residents, third- and fourth-year medical students, and medicine residents and geriatric fellows rotating in neurology are afforded unique educational opportunities.
Dr. Zaydan says that within that he’s optimistic about services that will soon be added to the multiple sclerosis clinic within the next few months. “These are things like starting a safety initiative that provides a Life Alert to every patient with mobility problems or of certain elderly age. The Living with MS initiative will provide weekly services in the comprehensive clinic that allows providers to keep regular communication with patients.”
Clinical services at the VA are offered face-to-face and virtual, as well as infusion services in all satellite hospitals in the local network that serves Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Western Maryland and West Virginia.
“With the elements of education, research and clinical practice, as well as the comprehensive care clinic,” says Dr. Zaydan, “We were designated a Regional Center of Excellence,” by the VA Centers of Excellence East Network MSCoE.
