Services and Programs of Epilepsy Foundation Florida

Epilepsy Foundation Florida helps people minimize the challenges of living with epilepsy. The foundation also supports therapies and treatments that demonstrate the potential to prevent epilepsy-related seizures. With these objectives in mind, the organization has established multiple programs and services.

The foundation’s Epilepsy and Seizures 24/7 Helpline has numerous specialists to assist with epilepsy-related problems. The helpline staff is prepared to provide relevant information about epilepsy and emotional support and information on local and national resources. Helpline specialists work with individuals with epilepsy, caregivers, or individuals interested in learning more about the condition.

People can call the helpline to discuss current treatments, alternative therapies, medications, educational materials, and first aid and safety procedures for seizures. Helpline specialists also can put callers in touch with local support groups and address questions about employment and discrimination. Individuals can reach the Epilepsy and Seizures 24/7 Helpline at 800-332-1000.

The Epilepsy Foundation Florida Kids Crew program has three goals. The first is to raise awareness of epilepsy and seizures for kids and families throughout the state. The second is to function as a platform for individuals and families to share their stories and enable others to learn from their experiences. The third goal is to encourage engagement with other philanthropic organizations and initiatives, such as the Purple Pumpkin Project, Lemonade for Livy, and various charity walks.

My Seizure Diary is another invaluable service provided by Epilepsy Foundation Florida. The service acts as a digital self-management tool that allows individuals to record and track information on their epilepsy and seizure history. The diary offers space for the user’s medical history, medication information, and personalized information such as moods and side effects of medications. My Seizure Diary also sets medication reminders and formulates seizure response plans that users can share with family members, friends, and employers.

The foundation’s SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) Institute provides bereavement support to the families of lost loved ones. While people with epilepsy can lead normal, healthy lives, those who continue to experience seizures are at increased risk of complications, including injury and death. In addition to bereavement support, SUDEP offers a range of information on SUDEP prevention.

The Epilepsy Foundation’s SUDEP Institute has recently come out in support of new SUDEP guidelines developed for medical professionals by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society. These guidelines have been created with a goal of improving standards of care and more complete disclosure rates. The institute is also a proponent of continued SUDEP research to understand epilepsy’s causes and methods of prevention.

Epilepsy Foundation Florida provides numerous research and educational resources. Educational opportunities include community meetings to learn more about the condition and accredited training programs serving school nurses, child care personnel, and other professionals.

The Epilepsy Foundation Research Department supports many projects for improved epilepsy treatment and care. In 2017, the foundation’s Epilepsy Therapy Project became the first supporter of a genetic therapy for epilepsy.

Additional services and programs include Teens Speak Up! and numerous Walk to End Epilepsy events throughout Florida. Further, Epilepsy Foundation Florida supports advocacy efforts at local, state, and national levels.

To learn more about its services and programs, visit epilepsyfoundationfl.org. You can also learn about the national organization at epilepsy.com.

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The Process of Selecting Super Lawyers

Super Lawyers, owned by Thomson Reuters, is a national lawyer rating service where lawyers are ranked by a rigorous selection process. The lawyers on the site stand on a three-tiered ranking system: Super Lawyer (highest rank), Rising Star, and Lawyer.

The first stage of selecting a candidate for the Super Lawyer title is the nominations step. Here, a pool of candidates is gathered, and the candidates are chosen by peer nomination or by the Super Lawyers research department. Every year, Super Lawyers calls in lawyers from each state to get their opinions on attorneys they believe are making positive strides. While it is allowed for attorneys to nominate lawyers in their firm, the nomination can only be effective if another lawyer from outside of the firm backs it up. The lawyers that nominate cannot select themselves, and they must only nominate a candidate who is active in their state. Super Lawyers keeps track of the nominators and the nominees and search for patterns to ensure that no one is cheating the system.

After the pool has been collected, the research process begins. Super Lawyer’s research team, led by an attorney, starts to find which one of these lawyers meets the required criteria (based on credentials, certificates, honors, or results). In this process, the research team also discovers underdog lawyers with less visibility or more specialized niches and adds them to the list of candidates.

Outside of formal nominations, readers, clients, and other attorneys who are not allowed to nominate formally also send in names of candidates they would like to be included. However, these informal nominations do not award the lawyer points. But the team will further research them after adding them to their candidate pool.

For the second step, the independent research team uses a list of achievements (in unequal importance) to determine who gets shortlisted: education and employment backgrounds, experience, verdicts and settlements, transactions, pro bono and community service, law firm ranking, special licenses and certifications, honors and awards, professional activity, representative clients, scholarly writings and publications, and other noteworthy achievements.

After the points have been collated, the third step is to select based on peer evaluation by practice area. To do this, the nominees with the highest point totals are called to a blue-ribbon panel, where they rate other candidates from their field of practice on a scale of one to five.

The final selection (step four) happens after the candidates have been gathered into four firm-size groups. This allows for fairness–because those with small law firms or lawyers who practice solo are compared with each other and likewise for lawyers in big firms. Those with the highest point in the categories are then selected.

Before the winners are published, the research staff asks if they have ever been subject to criminal or disciplinary events. They also check with the nominee’s local licensing authority and see their relationship.

Lastly, they conduct web searches on the candidates to ensure that no information on them negatively affects their reputation. To verify the information and remain fair, Super Lawyers contacts the lawyer to double-check the correctness of all publicly available information.

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Epilepsy Foundation Florida

With over 50 years of history, the Epilepsy Foundation is a nationwide organization focused on fighting epilepsy and helping individuals overcoming the challenges of living with it. As a network of local partners in nearly every state, the foundation gives people access to treatment and support, funds research to accelerate therapies and a cure, and leads advocacy efforts, also educating the public about first aid for epilepsy and seizures.

A local chapter of the foundation, the Epilepsy Foundation Florida provides referral assistance and offers community-based services. These services include individual and family support and epilepsy-related education for employers, school nurses, first responders, and other allied health professionals.

The Epilepsy Foundation Florida aims to serve people with epilepsy across Florida--an estimated 223,000 individuals including those with other seizure-related conditions. Located in Tampa, the Florida chapter works closely with the national foundation to develop and execute services and programs such as a 24/7 seizures and epilepsy helpline, Kids Crew, My Seizure Diary, and community seizure education and training.

The Kids Crew program aims to empower kids and give them a platform to impact others. The Epilepsy Foundation created this program to encourage kids to educate their families, friends, and community about epilepsy, share their stories to give others the opportunity to learn from their experiences, and participate in local walks. Families across Florida engage in the program, and children with or without epilepsy can join.

Another tool that the Epilepsy Foundation created to help people with seizures is My Seizure Diary. A self-management app for monitoring and tracking seizures, My Seizure Diary also helps manage medication, communicate with health care providers, and understand events that can trigger seizures. It is available at iTunes and Google Play stores or through the web app diary.epilepsy.com.

When it comes to seizure education and training, anyone who interacts with the public may order online, on-demand, or in-person training through their local chapter. For in-person training, it is necessary to contact the Epilepsy Foundation Florida office via email or phone to request information or arrange a session. The Epilepsy Learning Portal features all of the Epilepsy Foundation’s online and on-demand training. The foundation also provides live and online webinars upon availability.

The Epilepsy Foundation not only raises awareness through training and programs, but also engages families in a variety of activities organized by their local chapters. The Florida chapter, for example, planned four “End Epilepsy” workshops and several golf fundraisers in 2020. Chase Away Epilepsy, for instance, was held in November in Bradenton, Florida, bringing together a team of advocates for a cure for epilepsy.

Furthermore, the Epilepsy Foundation Florida has a partnership with several outstanding epilepsy centers focused on diagnosing and treating the condition. According to the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC), there are four levels of epilepsy care. The state of Florida features epilepsy centers levels three and four--meaning that they are compliant with all NAEC accreditation criteria, providing advanced care for patients who need a range of neuropsychological, medical, and psychosocial services, as well as intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring.