UVA Joins Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s Care Center Network

The University of Virginia Health System (UVA) recently joined the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF)’s Care Center Network, making it one of 19 new facilities chosen after careful peer review for inclusion in this signature PFF program.

The PFF Care Center Network now comprises 40 medical centers with expertise in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis across 26 states in the U.S. The network relies on a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to offer comprehensive care to PF patients, and to ease access to relevant support services for patients and their families.

UVA has an Interstitial Lung Disease Program, experience in treating pulmonary fibrosis disorders, and also develops its own investigational research and clinical trials. It offers several treatment options depending on the disease’s cause and symptomatology, with the goal of easing symptoms and improving the patient’s quality of life. The center also offers patients pulmonary rehabilitation programs and psychological counseling.

As part of the PFF Care Center Network UVA will be granted access to other resources directed to pulmonary fibrosis patients and caregivers, and may participate in the soon-to-open PFF Patient Registry, a large-scale collection of patient data for research use. UVA will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the other 39 care centers that comprise the PFF Network to advance care for this patient population.

“We are honored that the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation has recognized the quality of our program and the expertise of our medical staff in treating patients with fibrotic lung disease,” said Dr. Borna Mehrad, director of UVA’s Interstitial Lung Disease Program, in a press release.

Pulmonary fibrosis, also called interstitial lung disease, comprises a group of more than 200 debilitating medical conditions characterized by inflammation and scarring (referred to as fibrosis) of lung tissue, ultimately compromising the oxygen transfer between the lungs and the bloodstream, leading to cough, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and, in some cases, respiratory failure. When the cause of the fibrosis is unknown, the disease is called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH), this condition affects approximately 200,000 Americans, and its prevalence is rising.