In the medical field, Centers for Excellence have been identified as health care providers that provide cost efficient expert health care, leading to optimal outcomes. Centers for Excellence for research have also been established.

For individuals with chronic illness such as neuromuscular disease, visiting a Center for Excellence that focuses upon treatment and research can provide the opportunity for high quality, comprehensive medical care. Many of these Centers can be found through the information below and the website addresses listed under resources.

For those suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the ALS Association has identified Centers for Excellence that offer muti-disciplinary care at the highest level. These programs have been certified by the ALS Association through a rigorous process of review. In the U.S., more than forty ALS treatment centers have been certified by the ALS Association.

The Charcot Marie Tooth Association (CMTA) has identified fourteen Centers of Excellence in the U.S for medical care for individuals with Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT). An additional three International Centers have been identified. All but one of these centers in included in the Inherited Neuropathies Consortium. Along with providing state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary care for individuals with CMT, these CMT Centers for excellence have contributed to research, with over 7000 individuals being enrolled in research protocols through these Centers.

The Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Centers of Excellence focuses upon translational and clinical research into muscular dystrophy. This program was established in the U.S. in 2003 by the National Institutes of Health as part of the MD CARE Act. Currently, six Centers are currently funded with five-year renewable research grants. An additional three Centers are identified as previously funded.

The MDA provides a system of over 200 comprehensive clinics that provide multi-disciplinary care for individuals with neuromuscular disease. Some of these clinics participate in clinical research as well. Ten of these clinics have been identified as “elite clinics” and put into networks that facilitate research. Five of these clinics have been identified as part of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Research Network, and five have been designated as part of the ALS Clinical Research Network.


Resources:
ALSA.org, ( ). ALS Association Certified Centers. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://www.alsa.org/community/certified-centers/

ALSA.org, (2015 ). ALS Association Certified Centers (map). Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://batchgeo.com/map/alscenters

center of excellence. (n.d.) Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. (2009). Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/center+of+excellence


CMTA.org, (2014). CMT Centers for Excellence. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://cmtausa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427&Itemid=230


CMTA, (2014). CMTA Centers of Excellence: Connecting People with Those Who Care Most. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://cmtausa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=775:cmta-centers-of-excellence-connecting-people-with-those-who-care-most&catid=50:2013-annual-appeal-videos&Itemid=221

MDA.org, ( ). Your MDA Clinic. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://mda.org/services/your-mda-clinic

NIH, (n.d.). The Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Research Network. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https://www.wellstonemdcenters.nih.gov/index.htm.