http://www.triadlivingmagazine.com/Turning_the_Triad_purple.aspx
For most people, driving a car or getting a job is normal. But for some patients at the Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina in Winston-Salem, these are milestones to a healthier and more independent life.
“The best part of the day is when a patient who formerly could not get a job because he or she had seizures now is a functioning individual in society with a job or a car,” says Dr. J. Christine Dean, co-founder and director of the institute.
The Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina is a private not-for-profit organization funded by donations, grants, and patients with medical insurance that provides assistance to residents in the Triad and around the world. A large percentage of funding also comes from federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, though it was not always this way.
“The institute was founded specifically to serve a population that was uninsured and underinsured at a time when hospitals were not able to provide free care for them,” Dean says.
The overall mission of the organization is to help patients with epilepsy and other neurological conditions better manage their lives and live as independently as possible through patient care, education, and research. The beneficiaries of course are the patients, and all profits are placed back into the institute for patient education and facility improvements so it can help diagnose and treat more people with epilepsy.
“I have always been an advocate of those who are underprivileged and underfunded, and have always wanted to make the contribution to society by helping those who cannot help themselves,” Dean says.
Making a difference
Dean — who has served as the institute’s director since it opened in 1992 — believes in a complete approach to treating patients. Services include everything from diagnosis and treatment to long-term care, education, and assistance with prescription medications.
“Treating each patient as an individual case study allows us to look at all aspects of his or her neurological makeup through EEGs, MRI imaging, neuropsychological testing, clinical interviews, and behavioral modification,” she says. “Without this kind of team approach, a misdiagnosis is likely, which could be catastrophic for the patient.”
What makes the Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina so unique is the fact that it has both a neurological unit that includes primarily epilepsy diagnosis and treatment and a behavioral unit that includes a neurologist, neuropsychologists, a social worker, and counselors. What’s also so unique about the facility is that Dean gets to bring her dogs to work with her every day.
“The dogs are a tremendous help,” she says. “They help out with children who are being tested and also help perk up nurses and doctors in the medical area.”
To help increase awareness of epilepsy and related neurological disorders, the institute plans to host a Motorcycle Benefit Ride in November, which also happens to be Epilepsy Awareness Month. It’s also currently planning a Turn Winston-Salem Purple party in the city’s downtown area.
“We at the institute are dedicated to improving patients’ overall quality of life,” Dean says. “When we are able to help someone turn it around, to be able to go out and do the things that most of us take for granted — drive a car, go to school, have a family — that is what makes it all worthwhile.”
Dakota Jacobi is a freelance writer based in Raleigh.
Turning the Triad purple
Institute works to help those with epilepsy lead normal lives
by Dakota JacobiFor most people, driving a car or getting a job is normal. But for some patients at the Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina in Winston-Salem, these are milestones to a healthier and more independent life.
“The best part of the day is when a patient who formerly could not get a job because he or she had seizures now is a functioning individual in society with a job or a car,” says Dr. J. Christine Dean, co-founder and director of the institute.
The Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina is a private not-for-profit organization funded by donations, grants, and patients with medical insurance that provides assistance to residents in the Triad and around the world. A large percentage of funding also comes from federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, though it was not always this way.
“The institute was founded specifically to serve a population that was uninsured and underinsured at a time when hospitals were not able to provide free care for them,” Dean says.
The overall mission of the organization is to help patients with epilepsy and other neurological conditions better manage their lives and live as independently as possible through patient care, education, and research. The beneficiaries of course are the patients, and all profits are placed back into the institute for patient education and facility improvements so it can help diagnose and treat more people with epilepsy.
“I have always been an advocate of those who are underprivileged and underfunded, and have always wanted to make the contribution to society by helping those who cannot help themselves,” Dean says.
Making a difference
Dean — who has served as the institute’s director since it opened in 1992 — believes in a complete approach to treating patients. Services include everything from diagnosis and treatment to long-term care, education, and assistance with prescription medications.
“Treating each patient as an individual case study allows us to look at all aspects of his or her neurological makeup through EEGs, MRI imaging, neuropsychological testing, clinical interviews, and behavioral modification,” she says. “Without this kind of team approach, a misdiagnosis is likely, which could be catastrophic for the patient.”
What makes the Epilepsy Institute of North Carolina so unique is the fact that it has both a neurological unit that includes primarily epilepsy diagnosis and treatment and a behavioral unit that includes a neurologist, neuropsychologists, a social worker, and counselors. What’s also so unique about the facility is that Dean gets to bring her dogs to work with her every day.
“The dogs are a tremendous help,” she says. “They help out with children who are being tested and also help perk up nurses and doctors in the medical area.”
To help increase awareness of epilepsy and related neurological disorders, the institute plans to host a Motorcycle Benefit Ride in November, which also happens to be Epilepsy Awareness Month. It’s also currently planning a Turn Winston-Salem Purple party in the city’s downtown area.
“We at the institute are dedicated to improving patients’ overall quality of life,” Dean says. “When we are able to help someone turn it around, to be able to go out and do the things that most of us take for granted — drive a car, go to school, have a family — that is what makes it all worthwhile.”
Dakota Jacobi is a freelance writer based in Raleigh.
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