The MS Centers of Excellence (MSCoE), established by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 2003, is committed to serving the health care needs of approximately 40,000 Veterans with MS. The Centers of Excellence are located in Seattle and Portland (MSCoE, West) and Baltimore (MSCoE, East). These cooperative centers are organized around four functional cores:

1. Clinical Care
2. Education and Training
3. Research and Development
4. Informatics and Telemedicine

The Centers of Excellence are dedicated to further the understanding of the disease, its impact on Veterans, and effective treatments to help manage MS symptoms. By partnering with Veterans, caregivers, and health care providers the Centers hope to minimize disease impairment and increase the quality of life for Veterans with MS.

Our Mission

To improve services for Veterans with MS and provide a resource for providers through a specialized and collaborative integration of clinical care, education, research, and informatics.

Our Goals

The Centers of Excellence overall goals are to improve the quality and consistency of health services delivered to Veterans with MS across the country. The MS Centers of Excellence are influencing providers and Veterans using a population-based management model. Essential elements to this model are the availability of a national registry of Veterans who have been diagnosed with MS, the ability to impact services at the point-of-care with electronic medical record tools, and the development of face-to-face and distant education and training options for health professionals and Veterans to facilitate evidence-based delivery of services. Integration of the above elements permits short and long-term assessment of interventions and modification to achieve goals.

Our Programs

Clinical Care
Improve the clinical care of Veterans with MS by fostering an integrated hub and spoke care system within the entire VHA.

Research and Development
Conduct, disseminate, and apply research relevant to health needs of Veterans with MS using pre-clinical research on novel therapies and to pilot local and national clinical trials.

Education and Training
Provide a national program of MS education for VHA healthcare providers, Veterans and caregivers. Using a specialized post-doctoral fellowship training program continue to develop expertise in MS health care delivery.

Informatics and Telemedicine
Employ state-of-the-art informatics, telemedicine technology, and the MSCoE Internet web site to enhance strategies and practices of MS healthcare delivery.

Program Directors

MSCoE, West Director
Jodie K Haselkorn, MD, MPH
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Seattle, Washington
Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine
Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Affiliate Professor, Medical History and Ethics
University of Washington

MSCoE, East Director
Christopher T. Bever, Jr. MD, MBA
Chief, Neurology Service
VA Maryland Health Care System
Baltimore, Maryland
Professor, Department of Neurology and Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine
University of Maryland

MSCoE, West Co- Director
Dennis Bourdette, MD
Portland VA Medical Center
Portland, Oregon
Chairman, Department of Neurology
Professor, Neurology and Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University