August 15, 2025

RLS Foundation Certifies Barrow Neurological Institute as a QCC

As an RLS Quality Care Center, Barrow Neurological Institute is certified to provide expert care to patients with restless legs syndrome, a chronic neurological sleep disorder.

AUSTIN, TEXAS, August 15, 2025 – The Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Foundation announces it has certified Barrow Neurological Institute as an RLS Quality Care Center.

An estimated 2%-3% of adults need daily clinical treatment for RLS, a chronic neurological disease that disrupts sleep and can have a devastating impact on overall quality of life. As an RLS Quality Care Center, Barrow will serve as a destination for RLS patients who need expert medical care.

“We are proud to be recognized with this esteemed designation,” says Nicki Niemann, MD, director of the Quality Care Center at Barrow. “We’re honored to be recognized as an RLS Quality Care Center and excited to bring national attention to the critical needs of this patient population. By uniting Barrow’s expertise in sleep medicine and movement disorders, we’re uniquely positioned to provide innovative, patient-centered care for even the most complex RLS cases. Through this partnership with the RLS Foundation, we hope to advance clinical standards, expand access to expert care in the Southwest and inspire a new level of understanding for a condition that is too often overlooked,” says Dr. Neimann.

Barrow joins a network of 14 other institutions in the US and Europe that are certified by the RLS Foundation as Quality Care Centers. Through this program, the Foundation aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease worldwide.

RLS Quality Care Centers:

• Provide expert care to RLS patients
• Serve as information and referral resources for healthcare providers who treat patients with RLS and regional support groups
• Support patients and families through educational offerings and literature
• Share information with other centers to improve clinical best practices
• Partner with the RLS Foundation on quality improvement projects to raise the standard of care for RLS patients everywhere

“We are delighted to welcome Barrow to the RLS Foundation Quality Care Center network,” says RLS Foundation Executive Director Karla Dzienkowski. “Individuals with RLS in the Southwestern part of the United States face significant challenges in finding healthcare providers who can manage moderate to severe forms of RLS. Barrow Neurological Institute provides access to knowledgeable and skilled healthcare providers who can provide personalized treatment plans to improve quality of life for those living with RLS.”

Dzienkowski adds, “The goal of the Quality Care Center network is to provide RLS patients access to healthcare providers proficient in RLS management. We look forward to our partnership with Barrow Neurological Institute to provide treatment access, management and quality of life improvement for RLS patients.”

Contact information for Barrow Neurological Institute is listed on the RLS Foundation website. Other certified RLS Quality Care Centers are:

• Johns Hopkins Center for Restless Legs Syndrome
• Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine
• Houston Methodist Neurological Institute
• Stanford Sleep Medicine Center
• Emory Sleep Center
• Yale Center for Restless Legs Syndrome
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Center
• Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland
• Innsbruck Medical University
• Massachusetts General
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Virginia at Charlottesville
• University of Southern California

To learn more about the RLS Quality Care Center Program, visit www.rls.org/quality-care-centers.

About the RLS Foundation

The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of all who live with restless legs syndrome (RLS). Founded in 1992, the Foundation’s goals are to increase awareness, improve treatments and advance research to find a cure. The Foundation serves healthcare providers, researchers, over 6,000 members, and an estimated 12 million individuals in the United States who have the disease. The Foundation’s Research Grant Program has awarded over $2 million in funding for medical research on RLS causes and treatments. For more information, visit www.rls.org.

CONTACT
Adrianna Colucci
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
adrianna@rls.org
512-366-9109