Resources Available at the Clinical Neuroscience Institute
By Jason Merritt, vice president of Premier Physician Network specialty services, service line vice president for neurosciences
One of the strengths of Premier Health is the breadth of services and provider expertise available across our network. The Premier Health neuroscience service line recently completed two cases that highlight the resources available through the Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Miami Valley Hospital, as well as the positive impact for patients we can see when those resources are aligned. For years, Premier Health has offered neuro-surgical options for patients with epilepsy and brain tumors at Miami Valley Hospital. Based on clinical presentation, some patients will benefit from a more advanced surgical procedure known as an Awake Craniotomy. This procedure is performed on the brain while the patient is alert and awake. It is used to treat neurological conditions such as epileptic seizures and brain tumors. During surgery, the patient may be asked to answer questions while the responses of the brain are monitored. The responses guide the surgeon in mapping and treating the correct area of the brain while decreasing the risk of damage to functional brain. Performing these advanced procedures requires the expertise and coordination of a specialized multidisciplinary team. The team includes: anesthesiologist, neurosurgeons, neurologist, clinical neuropsychologist, neuromonitoring team, physician assistants, nurses, and many more. The planning for these procedures starts weeks or months prior to surgery. The neurosurgeons, neurologists, and the clinical neuropsychologist meet with the patient several times prior to the surgery. The assessments obtained allow them to determine if the patient meets the criteria for an Awake Craniotomy. A baseline functional assessment is completed by the neuropsychologist using the Neuro-Mapper testing platform. Once a decision is made that the patient will benefit from the Awake Craniotomy, a second round of coordination meetings occur with the surgical team and involves the surgeons, anesthesia, neuropsychologist, and nursing teams.
The Premier Health Neurosciences Service Line has been a leader in bringing complex neurological and neurosurgical care to the Miami Valley. The Awake Craniotomy is only the most recent example and joins our existing programs of Neuro-Interventional Surgery, Coordinated Stroke Care, Comprehensive Brain Mapping, Infusion Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis, Headache, and Memory Disorders, Neuro-Oncology, Focused Ultrasound for Essential Tremor, and Epilepsy Center. Additional questions about services offered at Premier Health can be found at Clinical Neuroscience Institute | Premier Health.
Back to the July 2021 issue of Premier Pulse
