National Association of Epilepsy Centers Grants Level 4 Status for Adult and Pediatric Epilepsy Services to Two Hackensack Meridian Health Hospitals

Highest designation achieved by Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center and JFK University Medical Center

Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health’s Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center recently achieved status as a Level 4 National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) for pediatric care.

The children’s hospital joins Hackensack Meridian network hospitals JFK University Medical Center, which holds Level 4 NAEC status for adult and pediatric care, and Hackensack University Medical Center, which holds Level 4 NAEC status for adult care. All are part of the growing Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute.

Hackensack University Medical Center has held a Level 4 status from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers for pediatric and adult care for the past 20 years. The Level 4 status for the children’s hospital, which is located on the Hackensack University Medical Center campus, is a result of the NAEC creating a separate designation for pediatric care. This marks the first designation attained by Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital.

The NAEC designation recognizes that both hospitals provide the most complex forms of intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring, as well as more extensive medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment. Level 4 centers also offer a complete evaluation for epilepsy surgery, including intracranial electrodes and a broad range of surgical procedures for epilepsy.

Hackensack University Medical Center and JFK University Medical Center have designated epilepsy monitoring units, which are designed to evaluate, diagnose and treat seizures in patients of all ages.

The pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, on the campus of Hackensack University Medical Center, is the only one in the state with board-certified pediatric neurologists who have advanced training and years of experience in seizure assessments, diagnostic testing, treatment and follow-up care. Staffed 24/7 by members of the pediatric epilepsy team, the unit offers 24-hour video EEG in a state-of-the-art room, equipped with full bathrooms, entertainment and Wi-Fi access.

Hackensack University Medical Center and JFK University Medical Center provide nonsurgical, minimally invasive and surgical treatment for epilepsy, including the latest treatments and technologically advanced surgical options, such as laser interstitial thermal therapy and deep brain stimulation, to treat refractory seizures that do not respond to medication or diet.

Learn more about our innovations in pediatric neurological care.