The Comprehensive Epilepsy Program (CEP) of Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children’s Hospital is a multidisciplinary program providing state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services to adults and children with epilepsy. The CEP is particularly oriented to provide tertiary-level care to those with more complex needs, including those whose epilepsy has proven to be refractory to first-line therapies. Disciplines involved are neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, nutrition and dietary, neuroradiology, clinical neurophysiology, psychiatry and nursing.

The CEP is accredited by the Nation Association of Epilepsy Centers (www.naecepilepsy.org). Based on our experience with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) we are now certified as a regional “Center of Excellence” for VNS Therapy.

We offer comprehensive epilepsy diagnostic and therapeutic choices for patients treated at our center including the following:

• • Four dedicated long-term (video/EEG) monitoring beds for proper diagnosis and presurgical evaluation of adult and pediatric patients with inadequately controlled seizures.
  • Expertise with all of the approved anti-epileptic drugs as well as the ketogenic diet.
  • Availability of sphenoidal leads and ambulatory EEG monitoring.
  • Up-to-date brain imaging technologies.
  • Surgical treatments for epilepsy.
  • Facilities for Wada testing (to determine lateralization of language and memory)
  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy

We interact closely with the Epilepsy Foundation of Massachusetts & Rhode Island for consumer information and psychosocial and educational support. Another source of epilepsy information is the American Epilepsy Society.