Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 11, 2012
At its signature annual Care and Cure Benefit in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, June 5, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles announced three new Pediatric Epilepsy Fellowship grants for three major hospitals in the region.
With too few neurologists to treat the numbers of children with epilepsy, its a serious uphill battle for patients and their families. And even if a patient can be seen by a specialist, these clinically complex cases must be approached on a case by case basis, said Andrew Gumpert, one of co-chairs of the Benefit and a Trustee of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
To address the need for more epilepsy specialists, the Care and Cure Benefit to End Epilepsy in Children raises funds to support the training of doctors at Mattel Childrens Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles, USC-County Medical Center, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the University of California, San Francisco. The doctors chosen to receive these grants will focus their attention on providing clinical care and research that will profoundly benefit children with epilepsy who lack access to quality treatment for their seizures.
To date, the Care and Cure Benefit has funded ten previous fellowship positions and two other grants to help establish or strengthen the Dietary Therapy Programs at the Mattel Childrens Hospital at UCLA and at the LA County-USC Medical Center.
All children in our community suffering from seizures deserve timely and expert medical care -- regardless of where they live, what language they speak at home, or what insurance their parents can afford. As a father and physician, I am reminded of that goal every day in clinic, said Dr. Arthur Partikian, currently at the LA County-USC Medical Center, and a former Care and Cure Fellowship Grant recipient.
The Care and Cure Benefit has begun to transform the world of epilepsy treatment for children in the Los Angeles area, said director/producer Jim Abrahams, the founder/director of The Charlie Foundation to Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy and an advisor to the Care and Cure initiatives of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
Improving access to specialty care, today; and increasing hope for cures, tomorrow, is the cornerstone of Care and Cure which, in turn, is a fundamental part of our fight to END EPILEPSY, said Mark Borman, one of the Benefit co-chairs and a Trustee of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
The success of the Care and Cure Benefit is due in part to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the 2012 Care and Cure Honoree and producer of the Transformer movies, as well as the previous honorees Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Bryan Lourd, Amy Pascal, Steve Tisch and Brad Weston. The importance and seriousness of the cause was highlighted in presentations from the Benefit Co-Chairs and the President of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, Steve Baum. Visual testimony included an original animated video, which opened the evening, and the annual Care and Cure video featuring Nico Rodriguez, a seven-year-old who bravely fought epilepsy under the care and supervision of his neurologist, a Care and Cure Fellowship recipient. Nico marched on stage with his family, bringing the entire audience to their feet in a round of applause. The evenings brief entertainment featured surprise guest guitarist and Billboard chart-topping blues musician, Joe Bonamassa.
Please visit http://www.CareAndCure.org to learn more about the doctors and to download your free copy of the E-Book Letters from the Heart, a compilation of letters written by children being treated by the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeless numerous Care and Cure doctors. These letters were a presented as a gift to all attendees of the Benefit.
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Three Pediatric Epilepsy Fellowship Grants for Major Hospitals Announced at Annual Care and Cure Benefit in Beverly ...