PFF Care Center Network Expands to 19 New Sites
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) recently announced that its PFF Care Center Network has added 19 new sites, almost double its previous number, and now totals 40 centers across 26 U.S. states. The Network, started in 2013, is a group of leading medical centers with specific expertise in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a damaging and progressive group of lung conditions marked by extensive scarring.
“As the leading resource for the pulmonary fibrosis community, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation created the PFF Care Center Network to help ensure patients receive a swift and accurate diagnosis along with the highest quality of care, which is absolutely critical for effectively managing the devastating group of fibrotic lung diseases,” explained Gregory P. Cosgrove, MD, CMO of the PFF, in the press release. “Over the past two years, the PFF Care Center Network has nearly doubled in size and has taken the brilliance and efforts of many to help the PF community and make a significant contribution to the advancement in patient care.”
The PFF Care Center Network approach is defined by the encouragement of multidisciplinary and comprehensive care through the formation of expert teams working together with the patient. The organization believes this orientation is crucial to provide patients with the adequate clinical care and support services. A panel of peer reviewers, current Board of Directors members, Medical Advisory Board members, and PFF Patient Registry Steering Committee joined the PFF Care Center Network in assessing applications for certification as a PFF care site. According to the announcement, the Network’s 19 new sites are:
- Boston-Providence Pulmonary Fibrosis Care Centers (Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center)
- Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center
- Duke University Medical Center
- Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical Center
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
- Stanford Health Center
- Stony Brook University Hospital
- Temple University Hospital
- UCLA Health Interstitial Lung Disease Program
- University of Cincinnati Medical Center
- University of Minnesota Medical Center
- University of Rochester Medical Center
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT Health)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- University of Utah Health Care
- UVA Health Systems
“With this expansion, we are pleased to build upon the success and positive reception that the PFF Care Center Network has received thus far within the PF community,” said Kevin Flaherty, MD, MS, chairman of the Steering Committee of the PFF Care Center Network. “All the participating sites exemplify the program’s emphasis on providing excellent patient care, educating staff about pulmonary fibrosis and pursuing research. In the near future, all the sites will have the opportunity to apply to participate in the soon-to-be-launched national PFF Patient Registry, which will collect patient data to facilitate ongoing research.”
PFF also has a new Data Coordinating Center for the PFF Registry — the Statistical Analysis of Biomedical and Educational Research Group (SABER) unit of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. SABER integrates a staff of 30 specialists in data entry and management, statistical analysis, clinical monitoring, and research administration.
