Release Date: 2/13/2023
Fawad A. Khan, MD, CPPS, Section Head of the International Center for Epilepsy at Ochsner and Nicole Villemarette-Pittman, PhD, Director of Clinical Research for the Neuroscience Research Center of Excellence, have started a nonprofit organization to build a society of professionals within the state of Louisiana that focuses on clinical care and research in the epilepsy community.
The inaugural annual conference of the Louisiana Epilepsy Care and Research Consortium was held on January 28, 2023, at the Higgins Hotel in New Orleans. The program, in collaboration with the Epilepsy Foundation of Louisiana, was structured to engage professionals about public health challenges related to epilepsy care, developments in the field, and promote research collaborations.
Presentations, networking sessions, and moderated discussions centered around common challenges and new advances in care. Nearly 60 providers and professionals from community practices, Tulane, LSUHSC-NO, Ochsner, LSUHS, OLG, Our Lady of the Lake, University of Lafayette, and Children’s Hospital New Orleans attended. Participants connected to begin building a shared vision to improve clinical care, access to care within the state, and patient outcomes. The consortium intends to foster innovative research that will become the future standard of care for epilepsy.
The conference Keynote Speaker was Dr. Gina Lagarde, Regional Administrator/Medical Director OPH Southwest, Region IX, LA Department of Health & Office of Public Health.
Pictured from Ochsner are Conference Co-Chairs, Fawad A. Khan, MD, CPPS and Nicole Villemarette-Pittman, PhD; panelists, Lenny Burgos, LCSW and Angela Tillman, LCSW, OSW-C, presenters, Tiffany Eady, MD, Lora Kahn, MD, Colin Curtis, BSE, and Jonathan Bidwell, PhD, and attendee, Vishal Bhimarasetty, MS.
