(New Brunswick, NJ) - Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, has been re-accredited as a Level 4 Epilepsy Center for 2023 and 2024 by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). This status is the highest level of accreditation for epilepsy care, which recognizes programs with the professional expertise and advanced capabilities to provide the medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.
Upon granting full accreditation, the NAEC noted that it was “pleased that your (the RWJUH) center was able to maintain standards for providing high quality care to people with epilepsy during the public health emergency.”
“This accreditation affirms our team’s dedication to providing the most advanced, expert care in this discipline,” said Bill Arnold, President and Chief Executive Officer at RWJUH. “Working in partnership with clinicians across RWJBarnabas Health System, our epilepsy-specialized neurologists and neurosurgeons offer patients the most advanced treatment and management capabilities, as well as access to clinical trials available only at academic medical centers. We are committed to providing our patients with the best opportunity to live active, productive lives.”
The RWJUH Epilepsy Center provides evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and management of children and adults who have epilepsy as well as seizure disorders. The center includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, nurse practitioners, pharmacologists, psychiatrists, neuropathologists, nutritionists and research coordinators.
Patients also have opportunities to enroll in clinical trials of new antiepileptic medications for various seizure types and evaluations for epilepsy surgery. The center also addresses quality-of-life concerns, including depression, memory issues, safe driving, bone health, reproductive health, and pregnancy.
Diagnostic and treatment procedures at the RWJUH Neuro-Electro-Diagnostic Laboratory include:
- High-resolution epilepsy protocol MRI brain scans
- Laser thermal ablation surgery
- Outpatient laboratory electroencephalogram (EEG) and evoked potentials (nerve responses) for infants, children, and adults
- Phase 1 long-term inpatient video EEG monitoring with scalp electrodes to identify an area of the brain responsible for epileptic activity or to differentiate between epileptic events and nonepileptic symptoms
- Phase 2 Wada testing (cerebral angiogram with neuropsychological testing during EEG monitoring), which assesses language, memory, and language dominance on one side of the brain at a time
- Phase 3 video EEG with intracranial electrodes (subdural, grid, or depth, etc.) to accurately pinpoint the epileptic focus for possible surgery
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scans
- Resective epilepsy surgery to remove specific brain tissues that may be responsible for seizures
- Sleep studies
- Vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) therapy
- Responsive neurostimulation implants
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 640-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and other Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek’s 2022 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification. RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.
Contact: Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568