[BobbyB]

Richland will be site of region’s first ALS clinic

By RANDY GRIFFITH
The Tribune-Democrat

Guiding their wheelchairs through the specialty clinic exam rooms, Pete Duranko and David Hostetler are impressed with the facilities.

“This an exciting day,” Duranko said, wheeling through what will host monthly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinics in Richland Township.

“I have tears in my eyes,” said Betty Hostetler of Boswell, watching her husband’s reaction during unveiling ceremonies at the John P. Murtha Neuroscience and Pain Institute, 1450 Scalp Ave.

Beginning in March, the institute will begin hosting the only ALS clinic between Hershey and Philadelphia, clinic Director Dr. Zachary Simmons said Tuesday at ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

“There will be a variety of services that all people who come to this center will receive,” Simmons said, noting patients will be seen by physicians, nurses, social workers, nutritionists and physical, occupational and speech therapists.

Studies show clinics using the multidisciplinary model achieves results for patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, he said.

“They clearly improve the quality of life,” Simmons said.

About 20 people attend monthly ALS support group meetings at the institute. On Tuesday, leaders announced the addition of a monthly clinic and satellite office of ALS Association of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

ALS is a rapidly progressive neurological disease that invariably is fatal.

Simmons is a neurology professor at Milton J. Hershey Medical Center and director of its ALS clinic. The Hershey program opened in 1995, holding clinics once each month. Today, it serves 140 patients with six clinics a month.

The Richland program will serve between 20 and 30 patients to start, with plans to expand its schedule as demand increases.

“We are opening another area of specialty to provide complete care,” institute Director Dr. Alfred P. Bowles Jr. said. “We are becoming a comprehensive center for neurology, neurosurgery and neuroscience.”

ALS now joins other core programs, Bowles said, listing strokes, epilepsy, post-polio syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumors and brain injuries.

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