Epilepsy Foundation to Host its 13th Annual Los Angeles Care & Cure Benefit to END EPILEPSY®

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Epilepsy Foundation is hosting its 13^th Annual Care & Cure Benefit on May 30, 2019, at 6 p.m. at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The fundraising event will honor film director Shira Piven ("Welcome to Me," "Transparent," and HBO's "Room 104" and "Divorce") and Academy Award winning director, producer and screenwriter Adam McKay ("Vice," "The Big Short," "Step Brothers," "Talladega Nights," and "Anchorman"). This husband and wife duo are adding their names to a growing list of people in the entertainment industry who have been honored for changing the landscape of pediatric epilepsy care in Los Angeles. Money raised from this Care & Cure Benefit will fund and endow the training of three new pediatric epilepsy specialists at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital; Children's Hospital Los Angeles; and LAC+USC Medical Center.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, approximately 470,000 children under 17 years of age in the U.S. have active epilepsy. Epilepsy is complex, and children have the best chance of living seizure free when they have early intervention with a specialist and care team specifically trained in epilepsy and seizures.

"Our ultimate goal is that no child is diagnosed with epilepsy," said Andrew Gumpert, Co-Founder and Chair, Care & Cure; and member of the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. "Until then, the money raised from Care & Cure ensures that children with epilepsy get the specialty care they need, and that epilepsy research thrives in our region giving children and their families hope for cures."

Over the past 12 years, Care & Cure has raised more than $10 million and funded the specialty training of 30 fellows at epilepsy centers across Southern California and those fellows have provided specialty care and participated in clinical research throughout California and as far as Florida and Michigan. In addition, Care & Cure has funded seven research projects and helped fund statewide advocacy, education on seizure first aid for 2,400 students, and the launch of three pediatric dietary therapy programs at UCLA, LAC+USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

"What started in Los Angeles almost 13 years ago will now be extending beyond California to support the training of pediatric epilepsy specialists in states with few or no epilepsy specialists," said Mark Borman, Co-Founder and Chair, Care & Cure; and member of the National Board of the Epilepsy Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. "Our hope is that Care & Cure will similarly grow in other communities across the country in order to improve access to, and quality of, specialty care and, ultimately, help us END EPILEPSY®."

Previous honorees include Mary Parent, Doug Belgrad, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Michael De Luca, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Marc Evans, Bryan Lourd, Amy Pascal, Steve Tisch, Patrick Wachsberger, Brad Weston, and Patrick Whitesell.

For more information about the Los Angeles Care & Cure Benefit or to purchase tickets, please visit careandcure.org/LA.

About Epilepsy
According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder worldwide with no age, racial, social class, national or geographic boundaries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates that 3.4 million people in the United States are affected by epilepsy. It is the underlying tendency of the brain to produce seizures which are sudden abnormal bursts of electrical energy that disrupt brain functions.

About the Epilepsy Foundation
With a network of nearly 50 partners throughout the United States, the Foundation connects people to treatment, support and resources; leads advocacy efforts; funds innovative research and the training of specialists; and educates the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid. For more than five decades, the Epilepsy Foundation has shone a light on epilepsy to promote awareness and understanding, and to advocate for laws that matter to people with epilepsy, while also funding $65 million for epilepsy research and supporting 3,076 epilepsy investigators and specialists in their early careers. Over the past 17 years, in partnership with the CDC, the Epilepsy Foundation has helped to improve access to care for people with epilepsy, expanded its digital reach and online resources in homes across the country, and trained more than 500,000 school and community personnel in how to recognize seizures and administer seizure first aid. The Foundation has also assisted more than 108,000 people through its 24/7 Helpline in the past five years, and continues to focus on innovation, new therapies, community services, advocacy and education as key priorities. To learn more visit epilepsy.com or call 1.800.332.1000. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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SOURCE Epilepsy Foundation