Centers of Excellence in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lymphatic Diseases now established for the first time

NEW YORK, NY, USA, June 22, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Since its founding in 1998, the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN) pursued the dream of establishing Centers of Excellence in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lymphatic Diseases to guarantee quality medical care for the lymphedema (LE) and lymphatic disease (LD) patient communities. Following decades of research into the workings of the lymphatic system, the efforts of dedicated health practitioners, and a vocal patient population demanding attention, LE&RN now announces that this important milestone has been reached.

This achievement was the work of a team consisting of leaders in lymphatic medicine from Stanford, Harvard, USC, University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and UT Health which created the initial draft of standards for care of lymphatic diseases (LD). Professor Peter Mortimer (St George's, University of London, London, UK) and Melissa Aldrich, Ph.D. (UT Health, TX) then led a further review of standards by a Global Oversight Committee made up fourteen LD leaders hailing from Sweden, the Netherlands, Taiwan, France, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This committee rigorously vetted Center applications to guarantee compliance with set standards for five distinct categories of care.
 
"The process leading to this announcement has taken eighteen months and untold volunteer hours by dozens of leaders," said William Repicci, President & CEO of LE&RN. "We thank them for this invaluable contribution to the field as we congratulate the first LE&RN Centers of Excellence."

Listed here are those designated as Comprehensive or Network Centers of Excellence. In the coming weeks, LE&RN will announce those institutions which received designation as Surgical Centers, Referral Network Centers, and Conservative Care Centers. Visit the LE&RN website at www.LymphaticNetwork.org for the most up-to-date information on these designations.
 
LE&RN Comprehensive Centers of Excellence (all services provided within the same institution):

• Center for Lymphatic and Venous Disorders - Stanford Healthcare, Stanford Medical Center (Palo Alto, CA, USA)
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
• CHU Montpellier (Montpellier, France)
• Derby Lymphoedema Service-Royal Derby Hospital (Derby, United Kingdom)
• Keck Medical Center of USC, (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
• The Lymphatic Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Children’s Hospital Boston - A teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA, USA)
• The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (Columbus, OH, USA)
• Oregon Health and Science University Healthcare (Portland, OR, USA)
• St. George’s, University of London — National Lymphoedema Clinic (London, United Kingdom)
• University of Chicago Medicine, (Chicago, IL, USA)
• Texas Children’s Hospital Vascular Anomalies Center (Houston, TX, USA)

LE&RN Network Centers of Excellence (Institution, and its affiliate institutions, can provide all listed services):
• Australian Lymphoedema Education Research and Treatment (ALERT) at Macquarie University (NSW, Australia)
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center (Baltimore, MD, USA)
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY, USA)
• University of Washington, Division of Plastic Surgery (Seattle, WA, USA)

Visit the LE&RN Centers of Excellence website for links to all these institutions and for more information about the program and standards. LE&RN welcomes hearing from patient advocates who utilize the services of these institutions and who would be willing to serve on Affiliate Boards that will work with LE&RN and the institution on standards compliance and advancement in care.

Laura Farrell
Lymphatic Education & Research Network
+1 516-625-9675
email us here