The Fairfield branch of Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut has become the first Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Comprehensive Care Center in the state to be certified by the National MS Society. The center celebrated the recognition with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.
The Kings Highway practice will join more than 80 certified centers nationwide dedicated to developing relationships between healthcare professionals and the National MS Society in order to give those diagnosed with MS the best care and support. According to a release provided by the society, such connections are "essential to better treatments and a cure."
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and often disabling disease that affects the central nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves). There is no cure for MS, but the society hopes to change that with the collaboration of healthcare professionals -- like those of Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut -- across the United States.
“Our certification with the National MS Society will allow us to deepen our relationship with patients in Connecticut living with MS,” Jeffery L. Gross, M.D., president and managing partner of Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut and director of the practice’s MS Comprehensive Care Center, said.
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As a society-certified center, Fairfield's MS Comprehensive Care Center will be able to communicate directly with experts at the National MS Society.
“We look forward to providing Connecticut Chapter programs and services more directly to our patients while at the same time participating in the effort to develop additional innovative treatments for MS," Gross said. "As the first certified MS center in Connecticut, we will strive to provide an even higher level of care to MS patients living in Connecticut and beyond.”
Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut is staffed by seven neurologists, three physicians, two registered nurses, three neuropsychologists and a licensed professional counselor, according to a release from the Connecticut chapter of the National MS Society.
The practice -- which also has a site in Milford -- is recognized as facility in the state to use neurotoxins (like Botox) to treat adverse affects of MS, such as spasticity.
The collaboration with the MS Society will allow for the Fairfield location to take part in clinical trials and will also offer a health and wellness program -- including services like yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy, hypnosis, and biofeedback.
“We are delighted to partner with Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut and its center,” Lynette Coleman, associate vice president of programs and services at the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, said. “We look forward to a dynamic collaboration with a single focus in mind: helping to keep the lives of people living with MS moving forward.”
For more information on the National MS Society's Comprehensive Care Centers and their programs and services, click here. To learn about the Connecticut Chapter of the National MS Society, visit its official website. For more on Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut, click here.
