The ALS Center at Ochsner Named ALS Certified Treatment Center of Excellence

Ochsner ALS Center Is the Only Clinic in Louisiana to Earn This Designation

The ALS Center at Ochsner has been recognized by the ALS Association and its Louisiana Mississippi Chapter as an ALS Certified Treatment Center of Excellence. The ALS Center at Ochsner is the only center in the state to have earned this designation, which is reserved for hospitals that meet the highest levels of established national standards of care in the management of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

An estimated 5,000 people are diagnosed every year with ALS – a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. For more than 20 years, the ALS Association’s national network of Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence has provided evidence-based, multidisciplinary ALS care and services in a supportive atmosphere with an emphasis on hope and quality of life.

To become certified as a Center of Excellence, an ALS clinic must meet The ALS Association’s clinical care and treatment standards, which are based on the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Practice Parameters, participate in ALS-related research and successfully complete a comprehensive site review.

“Our team is dedicated to delivering the best care possible for our patients and their families. By providing a multidisciplinary approach all under one roof, we are simplifying how patients seek and receive their care. It is truly humbling to be recognized for the lifechanging work happening every day at the Ochsner ALS Center,” said Dr. Daniel Larriviere, medical director for the ALS Center at Ochsner.

The ALS Center at Ochsner, which is modeled after the national guidelines for care that have been developed by the ALS Association of America, offers comprehensive care for patients with ALS and related disorders. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to create personalized patient plans, the ALS Center at Ochsner is set up so that patients can be seen by all relevant specialists in one visit, which helps alleviate the difficulties of traveling to multiple appointments throughout the month.

Patients at the ALS Center at Ochsner also have access to clinical trials and Ochsner's innovative Voice Banking program, which enables patients to record their voice and have it digitized into a synthetic voice for future use on any computer device through typed commands. To learn more about the Voice Banking program, click here to view a video featuring Cille Norman who receives her care at the ALS Center at Ochsner.

For more information about the ALS Center at Ochsner, please visit www.ochsner.org/als or call 504.842.0113. For more information about the ALS Association Louisiana Mississippi Chapter, visit webla.alsa.org.