January 22, 2007

Newest Certified ALS Center Named
After Curt and Shonda Schilling

By Gary Wosk, Staff Writer

The Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and his wife Shonda have delivered another big pitch for people with ALS and their families and The ALS Association.  

Lahey Clinic

The Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS clinic is located at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts.

As a result of their fundraising efforts, the support of Boston Red Sox fans and The Association’s Massachusetts Chapter, the Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic, located in the Department of Neurology at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., has been certified by the national office of The Association’s as its 29th ALS CenterSM.

The Schillings’ decision to support the clinic was based on their belief that support for the clinic was necessary in easing the burden for patients, caregivers and families to travel to and from multiple doctors’ appointments.

“This is an exciting day for ALS patients throughout New England,” Shonda Schilling said. “Curt and I are truly grateful for the support that ALS patients and their families have shown us over the years; it is only fitting that we stand behind them and support an effort like this clinic.”

“The unique aspect of this clinic is that patients are seen by many different medical specialists in one place at one time,” Schilling continued. “Families of the patients are no longer burdened with coordinating multiple medical visits in different locations.”

The co-directors of the clinic are Drs. James Russell, DO, and Gisela Held, MD.

“The members our multidisciplinary team and the Lahey Clinic at large are grateful for the extraordinary support of The ALS Association and the Schilling  family,” Russell said. “This makes it possible not only to provide the best possible care for our patients with ALS but also to do our part in furthering research efforts to find more effective treatments for affected individuals.”

The name of the Lahey ALS Clinic was changed in 2006 to the Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic as an acknowledgement of the couple’s philanthropic work for The Association since 1992. In that time, “Curt’s Pitch for ALS” has raised more than $8 million for the national ALS Association.

“Now others around the nation know what people with ALS in Massachusetts have known for quite some time. The Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic provides the gold standard in care,” said Gary A. Leo, the president and CEO of the national office of The ALS Association. 

Dr. James Russell    Dr. Gisela Held

Drs. James Russell and Gisela Held are the co-directors of
The Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic.

“The ALS Association has made improved patient care history again,” Leo continued. “This is the tenth clinic The Association has certified in the last two years. This is our way of saying to the public, ‘if you are someone with ALS, when you visit a center you can expect the best care possible from a multidisciplinary team of professionals in a family friendly atmosphere.’” 

The clinic officially became a Center of Excellence after an exhaustive review of the facility was given by some of the country’s leading neurologists.   

“We are not in the least surprised by the excellent report card the clinic received; after all, it bears the names of two of The Association’s top advocates, Curt and Shonda Schilling, who strive for excellence in everything they do,” said Sharon Matland, The Association’s vice president of patient services.  

The certification of the Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic occurred less than a year after the chapter announced plans to aggressively respond to the demand for services in 2006 and was the vision of the Schillings, Russell and Held, Rick Arrowood the president and CEO of the chapter, and Judy Teplow, the chapter’s director of patient and caregiver services.

Located across the country, ALS Centers partner with The Association’s chapters and provide people with ALS the gold standard in care. On each clinic day, a member of the chapter’s patient services team participates as a collaborative member of the group.

“Working with Lahey Clinic provides The ALS Association’s Massachusetts   Chapter with an opportunity to orient new patients and caregivers to a number of free services through a nationwide network of ALSA chapters,” Arrowood said.  “Additionally, it gives our team an opportunity to follow-up with patients in their homes to evaluate and facilitate procurement of home care services and resources including respite funding for skilled and non-skilled health care professionals, durable medical and augmentative equipment, in-home support, and patient and caregiver education.” 

“Our organizations share in the excitement of being able to offer ALS patients the highest degree of coordinated care as evidenced by this ALSA national certification award,” Arrowood continued.  

The quest for certification actually began six years ago.

Lahey Check Presentation
Shonda Schilling (third from right) with Rick Arrowood (left), the president and CEO of The ALS Association’s Massachusetts Chapter, present a check to the Curt and Shonda Schilling ALS Clinic.  
“The need for a dedicated ALS clinic has long been established, but this organization did not have the financial manpower or resources to fully commit,” Teplow said. “The Schillings’ leadership has taken us into a whole new way of delivering our services to our ALS patients and caregivers.”

The ALS Center Program sets the national standard for clinical care for people living with ALS and their family members. Centers of Excellence provide state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary ALS care and services in a supportive, family-oriented atmosphere with emphasis on hope and quality of life while living with the disease.

Comprehensive care is delivered by ALS specialists: a neurologist, social workers, nurse, dietitian, occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech/language pathologist, respiratory therapist and augmentative communication specialist.

The ALS Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., Wisconsin/Froedtert Hospital ALS Clinic in Milwaukee, Wis., the ALS Clinic at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Wash., and the Providence ALS Center in Portland, Ore., were certified by The Association last year.

Lahey Clinic, a physician-led, nonprofit group practice, is world-renowned for innovative technology, pioneering medical treatment, and leading-edge research. A teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine, the clinic provides quality health care in virtually every specialty and sub-specialty, from primary care to cancer diagnosis and treatment to kidney and liver transplantation.