KentuckyOne Health Establishes Multiple Sclerosis Center to Connect Patients with a Team of Medical Experts - Archived

 

Lexington, Ky. (November 19, 2013)—KentuckyOne Health has established a new center focused on the care of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The KentuckyOne Health Multiple Sclerosis Center, located at 1021 Majestic Drive in Lexington, connects patients living with multiple sclerosis to medical experts for comprehensive care.

 

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic lifelong disease that attacks the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.  It often affects individuals in the prime of their life. Symptoms may be mild to severe and include numbness in the limbs, problems with balance, paralysis, loss of vision, fatigue, bladder dysfunction, and cognitive issues.

 

The KentuckyOne Multiple Sclerosis Center is a comprehensive program that links patients with a core group of experts in the fields of medicine, physical, occupational and speech therapies, neuropsychology, social work and research. The comprehensive approach provides care for patients from diagnosis throughout treatment.

 

The center has already drawn patients from across Kentucky and neighboring states including Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. It offers valuable resources and partners with patients, families and healthcare providers to improve access to comprehensive care for patients affected by MS.

 

Fred Robinson of Mercer County, Kentucky has received care from Saint Joseph Neurology Associates, part of KentuckyOne Health, since 2006.  He was diagnosed with MS in December of 2005.  Since the MS Center was established, his care has expanded.  The center connected him with the Beaumont Centre Family YMCA in Lexington for physical and occupational therapy.

 

“I was really having a lot of problems with balance,” Robinson said.  After working with physical and occupational therapists, Robinson said he saw a great improvement: “The difference is immeasurable when you compare where I was before and after the therapy.”

 

When Robinson completed his physical and occupational therapy, he began participating in the wellness program at the YMCA, which includes low impact aerobics and occasional workouts with a trainer in the gym.

 

“I probably wouldn’t have gone to the Y without being encouraged to do so,” Robinson said. “Once I got into it, I absolutely loved it.”

 

More than 2.1 million people worldwide are affected by MS, including 450,000-700,000 in the United States and more than 5,000 in Kentucky. There is no cure for MS, and there is no single test that can detect the disease. MS affects predominately more women than men, 3:1, between ages 20-40.  However, cases have been identified in both males and females as old as 60 and as young as infants. 

 

Access to medical care is an important factor in maintaining a good quality of life for MS patients. As advances are made in the field, physicians are able to diagnosis and treat patients earlier.  

 

“We are dedicated in making the journey with MS patients over the course of their illness,” said Cary Twyman MD, medical director of the KentuckyOne Health MS Center an MS Partner in Care with the National MS Society. “Working together as a team of experts, our goal is to provide care that brings wellness, healing and hope to these patients.”

 

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health was formed when two major Kentucky health care organizations came together in early 2012. KentuckyOne Health combines the Jewish and Catholic heritages of the two former systems – Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System. In late 2012, the organization formed a partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital | James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  The nonprofit system is committed to improving the health of Kentuckians by integrating medical research, education, technology and health care services wherever patients receive care. KentuckyOne Health has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies, with nearly 15,000 employees across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is the largest health system in Kentucky.

 

###