The Labbadia family never wanted to need an MDA Care Center, but when son Brendan was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, they found that their team at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Fla., including pediatric neurologist Dr. Richard Finkel, was the one bright spot of an otherwise devastating journey.
The diagnostic odyssey facing families with neuromuscular diseases can be long, frustrating and heartbreaking. For many, not knowing what is wrong with a child or loved one is the hardest part. But diagnosis presents its own realities: Once families have a name for what’s causing symptoms, they have to find a team of doctors who can help treat it.
Enter MDA Care Centers. We know that few families with chronically ill members relish a trip to the hospital. MDA tries to make the experience as efficient, accessible and empowering as possible.
One of the ways we do that is by focusing on multidisciplinary care. This means that MDA families have access to a range of doctors – from cardiologists and neurologists to social workers and genetic counselors – all in one location.
As the Labbadia family’s story shows, this all-in-one approach works wonders for the families being cared for from day one at our network of more than 150 MDA Care Centers across the United States and Puerto Rico. These state-of-the-art clinics, located at top hospitals and health care institutions, bring health care specialists from a variety of disciplines together so families receive the care they need at one time, in one place. MDA Care Centers receive nearly 50,000 visits each year while also serving at the forefront of research and treatment by hosting clinical trials for the latest promising therapies.
MDA Care Centers are designed to give families access to many health care specialists from different areas of expertise all in one place. This ensures the best possible health outcomes while preventing the need for multiple appointments or added time away from school, work or life. This is what we call highly specialized multidisciplinary care. Additionally, research shows multidisciplinary care has a significant impact on improving an individual’s quality of care while prolonging their life.
