Eighth RLS Quality Care Center Certified
Tuesday, April 05, 2016Vanderbilt University Medical Center Austin, TX, April 5, 2016 – Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been certified as the eighth...
Tuesday, April 05, 2016
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Austin, TX, April 5, 2016 – Vanderbilt University Medical
Center has been certified as the eighth restless legs
syndrome (RLS) Quality Care Center by the RLS Foundation. This
certification recognizes Vanderbilt as a specialty center for treating RLS
patients with a range of complexities and comorbidities.
RLS (also known as
Willis-Ekbom disease) is a chronic neurological disorder affecting millions
of people, with often devastating impact on quality of life; an estimated 2 to
3 percent of adults need clinical treatment for RLS.
Arthur S. Walters, MD, director the RLS Quality Care Center at
Vanderbilt, says, “We are pleased that Vanderbilt University Medical
Center has been certified as a Quality Care Center for the treatment of
RLS. We appreciate very much this honor and will do our best to live up to
this distinction and provide adults, children and adolescents with the very
best care possible.”
The RLS Foundation coordinates a network of
certified RLS Quality Care Centers to improve diagnosis and treatment of
the disease worldwide. Centers must meet rigorous criteria that demonstrate a
high level of expertise and experience treating patients who have RLS.
The program benefits patients and families through:
- Recognition of Quality Care Centers as leaders in the field and as specialty clinics for patients who are traveling or in search of knowledgeable healthcare providers
- Availability of Quality Care Center staff as resources for referring primary care providers
- Patient educational offerings, print materials and connection with RLS Foundation local support groups
“At the RLS Foundation, we receive calls each day from
individuals seeking expert care in the management of RLS,” says RLS Foundation
Executive Director Karla Dzienkowski. “RLS Quality Care Centers provide
individuals with access to certified providers who are experts in the diagnosis,
treatment and management of RLS. This leads to improving quality of life for these
patients as well as their families. We are pleased to welcome this
distinguished and experienced group of RLS providers from Vanderbilt University
Medical Center to our Quality Care Center network.”
Other certified RLS Quality Care Centers include the Center
for Sleep Medicine at Mayo Clinic; Emory Sleep Center; Houston
Methodist Neurological Institute; Johns
Hopkins Center for Restless Legs Syndrome; Stanford Center for Sleep
Sciences and Medicine; Yale Centers for
Restless Legs Syndrome; and Innsbruck Medical University, Department ofNeurology, Sleep Lab and Sleep Disorders Outpatient Clinic.
To learn more about the RLS Quality Care Center Program, visit
www.rls.org/quality-care-program.
The RLS Foundation
is dedicated to improving the lives of men, women and children who live with
restless legs syndrome (RLS, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease). Founded in
1989, the Foundation’s goals are to increase awareness, improve treatments and
through research, find a cure for RLS. The Foundation serves healthcare
providers, researchers, over 4,000 members and an estimated seven million
individuals in the United States and Canada who have RLS. The RLS Foundation
Research Grant Program has awarded $1.6 million over the past 19 years to fund
medical research on RLS causes and treatments. For more information, visit www.rls.org.
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