Medical Center Hour and The 2023 Koppaka Family Foundation Lecture in the Health Humanities

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable, progressive neuro-degenerative disease, affecting roughly 20,000 thousand patients and their families in the United States today. The clinical course eventually leads to complete paralysis, and premature death.

Finding the language to accurately describe the physical and emotional experiences of ALS is often elusive for patients.

Likewise, offering language to patients that matches their experience is a delicate responsibility for clinicians.

In this MCH, Drs. Richard Bedlack and Jim Plews-Ogan endeavor to explore the challenge of sharing the language of ALS.

As an ALS neurologist, Dr. Bedlack has cared for more than 4,000 patients with ALS.

As a physician with more than 40 years of clinical experience, Dr. Plews-Ogan is now also a patient with ALS, who writes about his experience in a blog called, Offering Kindness.

Medical Center Hour is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, see Center for Health Humanities and Ethics: https://med.virginia.edu/biomedical-ethics/medical-center-hour/

Watch Medical Center Hour recordings at https://www.youtube.com/user/UVAMCH