UC Waddell Center Named Comprehensive Care Center by National MS Society

The Waddell Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Gardner Neuroscience Institute, has been named a Center for Comprehensive Care by the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. This is the first time the Waddell Center has received such a designation. 

A designated Center for Comprehensive MS Care has demonstrated a multidisciplinary model of care to address the often complex needs of many people with MS, offering a full array of medical, psycho-social and rehabilitation services where providers share common goals for patient outcomes.

By demonstrating its commitment to providing coordinated and comprehensive care for people with MS, the Waddell Center at UC Health becomes one of only six centers in Ohio that have received recognition by the National MS Society as a Center for Comprehensive Care. 

"This comprehensive care designation took a lot of time and thorough review. As an important center in the region treating multiple sclerosis, it’s important to get this recognition from the National MS Society,” says Aram Zabeti, MD, director of the Waddell Center, assistant professor of neurology within the UC College of Medicine and a UC Health neurologist. "Also, it will help us to foster more collaboration with the national and local MS Society.”

"Multiple sclerosis is a complex disease that requires a multi-layered approach to care. The model of comprehensive MS care involves the expertise of many different health care professionals—each contributing in a unique way to the management of the disease and the symptoms it can cause,” says Eddie Rauen, regional president of the MS Society for Michigan, Ohio Buckeye and Ohio Valley. "The Waddell Center provides this important expertise and coordination of care in one entity, leading to the designation of Center for Comprehensive MS Care by the National MS Society. The services of this center are an incredibly important resource to the over 20,000 people living with MS in Ohio.”

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Affecting more than 2.3 million people worldwide, MS symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. 

The MS Society funds research and fellowships and serves as a resource and advocate for people living with MS. Zabeti says the MS Society just recently funded a fellow for the Waddell Center. Ahmed Obeidat, MD, PhD. Obeidat, a resident in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, was awarded the National MS Society Clinical Care Fellowship of the amount of $65,000 toward training in MS and related disorders. This prestigious award was only awarded to six neurologists across the country, providing one year of post-residency training with experienced mentors to optimize access to quality care and solutions for people with MS. He will be mentored by Elizabeth Dragan, MD, director of MS and neuroimmunology fellowship at the Waddell Center.

The Waddell Center cares for patients at four UC Health locations: Cincinnati, Dayton and West Chester, Ohio, and Florence, Kentucky. The Waddell clinical team is led by four neurologists (including Zabeti) who have completed fellowship training in multiple sclerosis. Waddell Center neurologists work as part of a multidisciplinary team that also includes a nurse practitioner, neuro-ophthalmologist, neuro-radiologist, urologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, physical and occupational therapists and social workers. Clinicians and scientists combine comprehensive clinical care for patients with basic and applied research and innovative clinical trials.

 "We are proud of the Waddell Center’s hard work and dedication to the MS community. This recognition allows UC Health and the National MS Society to share expertise in a coordinated and collaborative manner to meet the complex needs of individuals with MS and their families and caregivers,” says Joseph Broderick, MD, director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute.