Epilepsy Foundation to Host its Annual Orange County Care & Cure Benefit to END EPILEPSY®

ORANGE, Calif., Sept. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Epilepsy Foundation is hosting its third Annual Care & Cure Benefit Gala at 6 p.m. on October 5, 2019, at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Newport Beach. This year's event will honor Lucy Dunn, president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council. Ms. Dunn, who has several family members with epilepsy, has joined the Foundation's efforts to END EPILEPSY® and help raise funds for Care & Cure. Money raised will fund and endow the training of new pediatric epilepsy specialists at Children's Hospital of Orange County and begin a new program for transitional pediatric care at CHOC, HOAG, UCI Medical Center and Mission Hospital.

"It's truly an honor to be recognized by an organization committed to enhancing the lives of children with epilepsy in the OC," said Ms. Dunn. "Epilepsy Foundation Orange County and its Care & Cure program are critical to helping improve access to pediatric specialty care and advancing epilepsy research in our region so that we can give children and their families hope for cures."

In Orange County, there are approximately 32,2810 people living with epilepsy, 5,500 of them are children. Having access to comprehensive epilepsy care is not always an option for families with children with epilepsy because of the shortage of epilepsy specialists in this field.

"Two years ago, we brought Care & Cure to Orange County with the hopes of enhancing the lives of children with severe forms of epilepsy," said Shannon Abdul-Wahab, Care & Cure chairperson and Epilepsy Foundation Orange County executive director. "While we have succeeded in funding specialty training for three epilepsy fellows in this region, wait times are still far too long for those that need care. There is still more to do to ensure children with epilepsy have access to much needed specialty care in a timely manner."

Epilepsy is very complex brain disorder. Seizures can have a catastrophic effect on the developing brain, including serious cognitive and learning disabilities, developmental and gross motor delay, and even early death. Children have the best chance of having improved outcomes when under the care of pediatric neurologists and care teams specifically trained in epilepsy.

Over the past 13 years, Care & Cure has raised more than $11 million and funded the specialty training of 31 fellows at epilepsy centers across Southern California, including UCI College of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Orange County in the last two years. In addition, Care & Cure has funded seven research projects and helped fund statewide advocacy, education on seizure first aid for students, and the launch of three pediatric dietary therapy programs at epilepsy centers throughout the state.

For more information about the Orange County Care & Cure Benefit or to purchase tickets, please visit occareandcure.org.

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