The USC Epilepsy Care Consortium (USCECC) represents a partnership comprised of 10 individual comprehensive epilepsy centers located across the southern half of California, from the highly urban Los Angeles and Orange Counties in the South, to the mid-sized cities in counties of Kern, and Fresno, to the more rural Tulare, and Kings Counties in Central California. Each of the centers represents an example of one of the disparate delivery paradigms in the complex American health care ecosystem. The Consortium emphasizes maximum resource sharing to allow each of the partner centers to function beyond its capabilities as an independent entity.
The USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center is led by Dr. Christi Heck, Medical Director, and Dr. Charles Liu, Surgical Director. As part of Keck Medicine of USC and USC Keck School of Medicine this center represents the academic anchor to the Consortium and is a National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) accredited level 4 center. Since its inception, the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center has developed a unique identity of emphasizing access to care to all patients that span the socio-economic spectrum in the USC-affiliated hospitals, including LAC+USC Medical Center. This effort has led to national recognition, with Dr. Christi Heck being selected to represent this concept on the National Academies Panel on the Public Health Dimensions of Epilepsy, resulting in the key publication “Epilepsy Across the Spectrum”
Through this center, all other Consortium centers and their patients have access to the latest technologies and clinical trials related to epilepsy care, as well as all the clinical and research resources of a world-class academic medical center and university. The weekly surgical conferences for the consortium are held in the USC Neurorestoration Center conference room, where all the Consortium partners are linked remotely by advanced IT facilities.
Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) is the highest ranked pediatric hospital in the Western USA and is a principal affiliate of the USC Keck School of Medicine. It represents the primary resource for pediatric care in the Los Angeles Basin and beyond. The CHLA Epilepsy Center has been rejuvenated by the leadership of Dr. Deborah Holder, Medical Director, and Dr. Mark Krieger, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Interim Surgeon-in-Chief. The CHLA Epilepsy Center serves as the anchor pediatric patients within the Consortium. Dr. Holder has a record of building successful pediatric epilepsy centers, including at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Starting in 2018 coordinated by Dr. Charles Liu, the epilepsy surgical services are fully integrated with that of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
The Rancho Los Amigos Epilepsy Center at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (RLA) is led by Dr. Susan Shaw, Medical Director and Dr. Charles Liu, Surgical Director. It continues to be the only NAEC Level 4 center in a safety-net hospital. When it was established in 2007 by Dr. David Millett and Dr. Charles Liu, it was the first such center nationally to provide comprehensive epilepsy care to all patients irrespective of socio-economic status, greatly expanding upon the long-standing efforts of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at LAC+USC Medical Center. It continues to exist as a close partnership between RLA and LAC+USC. RLA has the only epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) within the large network of facilities of the Department of Health Services (DHS). The program was honored with a Productivity and Quality Award by Los Angeles County in 2011 and continues to serve as a unique resource for all patients of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the second-largest municipal health system in the country.
Hoag Hospital is consistently ranked highest amongst hospitals in Orange County and is a key member of the Consortium. The Hoag Epilepsy Center represents an outstanding example of a comprehensive epilepsy center based in a highly-resourced community hospital, where the practice paradigm and incentives differ greatly from that of academic medical centers. After leaving Rancho Los Amigos in 2014, Dr. David Millett became the Director of the Hoag program. Concurrently in 2014, Dr. Charles Liu took leadership of the surgical aspects of the program at Hoag. Almost immediately, this proven team has led the rejuvenation of the program, with immediate escalation of both medical and surgical activities. In recognition of his leadership, Dr. Millett was the 2016 Honoree of “The Hidden Truth, the Mind Unraveled” art exhibition. The Hoag Epilepsy Center serves as the principal resource for epilepsy care for patients within the extensive St. Joseph – Hoag Health System in Orange County. The center has achieved NAEC Level 3 designation almost immediately, and achieved Level 4 designation in 2018.
The leadership of the USC Epilepsy Care Consortium remains acutely aware of the unique challenges of providing epilepsy care beyond the urban settings. In 2016, Dr. Charles Liu and Dr. Joseph Chen formed a partnership between the USC Neurorestoration Center and Kern Medical Center provide sub-specialty neurosurgical services to patients in Kern County. This effort led to the establishment of the first and only comprehensive epilepsy center in Bakersfield and Kern County in 2017. The Kern Medical Epilepsy Center is led by Dr. Hari Veedu, Medical Director and Dr. Charles Liu, Surgical Director. This center provides epilepsy services to some of the most underserved patients in California and receives considerable support from the rest of the Consortium members. In 2018 Kern received its first NAEC designation, reaching Level 3. With the only adult epilepsy monitoring unit between Sacramento and Los Angeles, the Kern Medical Epilepsy Center serves as a singular resource for the region, including Kern and neighboring counties such as Tulare and Kings. Together, Dr. Richard Pantera and Dr. Charles Liu are leading the effort to make the services of the Kern Medical Epilepsy Center accessible to all the patients served by the Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia CA, a singular resource between Fresno and Bakersfield.
Valley Children’s Hospital Epilepsy Center has served a singular role in providing outstanding care for the children of Central California. Before the establishment of the adult epilepsy center at Kern Medical, the Valley Children’s Hospital Epilepsy was the only NAEC designated epilepsy center in between Sacramento and Los Angeles. The program was rejuvenated with the recruitment of Dr. Cesar Santos from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2016, where he served for many years as Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics. As the Medical Director of the Valley Children’s Hospital Epilepsy Center, Dr. Santos has greatly increased the scope and quality of epilepsy services. As the only dedicated children’s hospital in Central California, Valley Children’s has established presence and partnerships in both Visalia and Bakersfield. In 2018, Dr. Cesar Santos and Dr. Charles Liu began to create pathways for easier bidirectional access to epilepsy services between Valley Children’s and Kern Medical, as well as the other consortium centers such as Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles .