FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Austin, Texas – August 13, 2015 – The Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Foundation has certified the Emory Clinic Sleep Center as an RLS Quality Care Center. Emory is the sixth institution to join the Foundation’s program, which aims to improve quality of healthcare for people living with restless legs syndrome (RLS, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease). 

RLS 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.

The RLS Foundation has established a network of certified RLS Quality Care Centers to improve diagnosis and treatment of the disease worldwide. Provider certification requires a high level of expertise and experience treating RLS patients. The program benefits patients and families through:

Lynn Marie Trotti, MD, MSc, is director of the RLS Quality Care Center at the Emory Clinic Sleep Center. “We are honored to join this network of centers dedicated to delivering the highest quality of care to patients with RLS,” says Dr. Trotti. Emory Clinic Sleep Center is a leading diagnosis and treatment center for sleep disorders. Located in Atlanta, the Center is part of Emory University School of Medicine, as well as Emory Healthcare.

Other certified RLS Quality Care Centers include the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, the Johns Hopkins Center for Restless Legs Syndrome, the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and the Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Neurology, Sleep Lab and Sleep Disorders Outpatient Clinic. 

“Patients with RLS often experience delayed diagnosis and ineffective treatment for their disease,” says RLS Foundation Executive Director Karla Dzienkowski. “We hear from people every day who are looking for knowledgeable and experienced practitioners to help manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Our objective with the RLS Quality Center Program is to help providers achieve this.

“We are pleased to welcome this distinguished group of physicians and researchers at Emory to our Quality Care Center program, and look forward to collaborating with them to improve the quality of care for RLS patients,” says Dzienkowski.

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, about 5,000 members and an estimated seven million individuals in the United States and Canada who have RLS. The RLS Foundation Research Grant Program has awarded $1.5 million to fund medical research on RLS causes and treatments. For more information, visit www.rls.org.