UD’s MS clinic wins national recognition

Ginger Stein (center), program director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Delaware chapter, presents its Commitment to Care plaque to Dave Hudson (left), assistant professor of health and exercise sciences, and Ken Seaman, director of the MS assessment clinic in the physical therapy department at UD.

2:44 p.m., March 22, 2005--The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has awarded its Commitment to Care plaque to UD for the work being done by its comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinic established in 2002 by Ken Seaman, director of the MS assessment clinic in the physical therapy department of the College of Health and Nursing Sciences.

The only one of its kind in the U.S., the clinic helps those with MS evaluate the extent of their illness and learn therapies for slowing its progression. It also was featured recently in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s magazine.

“The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is pleased to be affiliated with the University of Delaware and its MS assessment clinic. Together we are dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with MS and their families,” Ginger Stein, program director of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Delaware chapter, said. Stein presented the Commitment to Care plaque to Seaman, Friday, March 18, in McKinly Lab.

“When people come out of here, they are really in tune with MS. The goal of the clinic,” Seaman said, “is to develop a core of people who could treat MS, and that’s what we’re doing.” Seaman thanked the graduate students, volunteer therapists, counselors and physicians who operate the clinic for its success.

First- and second-year UD physical therapy graduate students work in the clinic alongside professional physical and occupational therapists, optometrists and family counselors.

“For students to take on the organization of such a multifaceted clinic is just great," volunteer Melissa Morgan, an occupational therapist, said.

Kama Smith, a second-year graduate student, said the award means that the clinic is getting national recognition and that could lead to other schools creating their own MS assessment clinics.

“It’s rewarding to be noticed for what we do all the time,” Tami Blusk, a second-year graduate student who manages the clinic, said.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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