Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Receives $1.6 Million Gift Intent from Care+Cure and The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles

The Care+Cure initiatives of The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles have stated their intent to establish a $1.6 million endowment to fund The Pediatric Epilepsy Fellowship Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). This endowment, announced on International Epilepsy Day, will be used to launch a program in July 2016 that will train one epilepsy fellow every year in perpetuity.

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(From L-R): D. Brent Polk, MD, chair of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA); Steven Baum president of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles (EFGLA) Board of Trustees; Andrew Gumpert, treasurer and trustee, EFGLA; Wendy Mitchell, MD, acting head of CHLA’s division of neurology; Deborah Holder, MD, neurology; Mark Borman, vice president and trustee, EFGLA; Paul Viviano, CHLA president and CEO; Susan Pietsch-Escueta, EFGLA executive director. (Photo Courtesy of CHLA)

“The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles has been the leading voice and catalyst on building a workforce of child neurologists and epileptologists in Southern California to provide timely access to expert care,” says Brent Polk, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at CHLA. “We are so grateful for their commitment to CHLA’s Epilepsy Program by ensuring training of the next generation of pediatric epilepsy specialists.”

“There is a shortage of child neurologists in this country and in this region,” says Andrew Gumpert, President, Worldwide Business Affairs and Operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group and co-chair of Care+Cure. “The Care+Cure initiatives of The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles have led the way in supporting the training of specialists, specialty care, research and supportive care for families affected by epilepsy. This intent to establish an endowment is one step in our organization’s fight to End Epilepsy.”

CHLA plays a crucial role as a pediatric academic medical center in educating the epilepsy specialists of the future. Advances in technology, such as brain mapping and genetic testing, are improving epilepsy treatment options. It is essential for physicians to experience the latest treatments, including diet therapy in conjunction with clinical care, while also learning how to adapt as medical science evolves. This program will train child neurologists at CHLA in comprehensive care for children with epilepsy. Fellows will receive experience in the most advanced care for these vulnerable patients and will be eligible to become a Board-certified epileptologist at the conclusion of the yearlong fellowship.

“This program is a critical next step in our ability to carry out the vision of building a more robust team of epileptologists at CHLA given it will create an essential pipeline that currently does not exist,” states Deborah Holder, MD, Director of the Epilepsy Program, EEG Lab and Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Under Dr. Holder’s leadership, the Pediatric Epilepsy Program will train one fellow per year in perpetuity, beginning in July 2016.

About the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles

The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles is leading the fight to End Epilepsy through care (specialty and supportive), advocacy, research and educating families affected and the general public about epilepsy. We are focused in Los Angeles and surrounding counties, which is home to over 160,000 families living with epilepsy, and our reach extends well beyond that region. This partnership with CHLA is another example of our commitment to partner with those who are dedicated to the best care, treatment and research of children with epilepsy.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a nonprofit pediatric health care organization dedicated to creating hope and building healthier futures for children. Honored as the premier children’s hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation, we treat 107,000 young patients annually from Los Angeles and around the world. As a pediatric charity of choice, the hospital relies on the generosity of the community to support its groundbreaking pediatric research and the complex care it provides for critically ill and injured children.

For more information, visit www.CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, or visit the CHLA blog.

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