Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Designates New Care Center at UVM Medical Center
to Increase Access to Treatment and Services.
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) has announced the expansion of its nationwide Care Center Network with the selection of eight additional sites, including the University of Vermont Medical Center. The PFF’s Care Center Network, a collection of medical centers with expertise in accurately diagnosing and treating individuals with pulmonary fibrosis (PF), now has 68 sites in 33 states. The eight new sites will increase access to high-quality care and services that are critical to the local PF community.
About 300 patients receive care at UVM Medical Center’s Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic, which launched in early 2017, according to its director, Dr. Prema Menon. She said the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation is the premiere organization providing patients with access to treatment and information. UVM Medical Center’s new designation, the only facility in Northern New England to be part of PFF’s Care Center Network, will help raise awareness and connect patients to care.
“We are honored to receive this designation from the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Patients at our clinic will know they are receiving the highest level of care because we are part of PFF’s Care Center Network,” Menon said. “This partnership will enhance our focus on integrating specialized care, cutting-edge research, and support services into the overall disease management plan for patients and their families.”
Menon said UVM Medical Center’s experts in pulmonology, radiology, pathology and rheumatology will care for patients as a multi-disciplinary team, while also studying the causes and therapies for the disease.
For a complete list of PFF Care Center Network sites, visit www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.
“We have rigorous criteria for Care Center sites and the selection of these eight newly designated centers is a testament to the comprehensive care provided to patients,” said Pauline Bianchi, Vice President of Research and Development for the PFF. “Our centers provide crucial resources for care along with disease education materials and opportunities to participate in research.”
More than 200,000 Americans are living with pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating disease which causes progressive scarring in the lungs. Fifty-thousand new cases of PF are diagnosed each year. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the most common form of the disease, has no known cause and no known cure.
About the University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 447-bed tertiary care regional referral center providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York. Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center. The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member of The University of Vermont Health Network, an integrated system established to deliver high quality academic medicine to every community we serve.
For more information visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites at UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia.
About the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation mobilizes people and resources to provide access to high quality care and leads research for a cure so people with pulmonary fibrosis will live longer, healthier lives. The PFF collaborates with physicians, organizations, patients, and caregivers worldwide. The PFF has a three-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Better Business Bureau accredited charity.
For more information, visit pulmonaryfibrosis.org or call 844-TalkPFF (844) 825-5733.