Councilor for the Midwest
Candidate Anup D. Patel, MD
Anup D. Patel, MD is board certified in neurology with special qualifications in child neurology. In addition, he is board certified in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology. He is the President for the Child Neurology Foundation Board of Directors and will complete his term in October 2023. He is the Chair of the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) until December 2023. He is the Vice-Chair of the Quality Committee for the American Academy of Neurology. He serves as a member of the Child Neurology Society Finance Committee. Previously, he served as a member on the Child Neurology Society Electronic Communications Committee. He is a part of the Child Neurology Society Quality Special Interest Group. He is a medical director of quality in the Center for Clinical Excellence at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is a Professor in Clinical Pediatrics and Neurology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He has interests in child neurology, pediatric epilepsy, and quality improvement.
What have been your most important or rewarding experiences in your years with CNS or with other professional organizations, and how have these experiences shaped your vision of the direction the CNS might take under your leadership?
I have had several meaningful experiences with the Child Neurology Society (CNS). I remember the first meeting I attended in Ottawa and the awe of all the great science and clinical experience that was being shared. I remember meeting people and starting to foster connections and friendships that remain today. The Child Neurology Society (CNS) was and remains my first professional home. I was fortunate to serve as a member on the Electronics Communications Committee. Here is where I learned how the structure of CNS worked and how a professional organization runs. Shortly afterward, I was selected as the CNS representative for the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Quality Safety Subcommittee. It was an amazing opportunity to represent CNS in this capacity. My role grew and soon I became the Vice-Chair of this subcommittee and then Vice-Chair of the AAN Quality Committee. I led the creation of the first quality measure set in Child Neurology, a collaboration between AAN and CNS. This experience taught me the importance of relationships between professional organizations. As a pediatric epileptologist, I felt it was also important to advocate and represent the needs of children with epilepsy and their families. Therefore, I became involved with the American Epilepsy Society (AES) on the Practice Management Committee becoming Chair until 2022.
Soon, my term as the President of the Child Neurology Foundation (CNF) Board of Directors will end, which has been a huge honor. I have worked closely with CNS and other important professional organizations. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, many organizations that help people with epilepsy and their families came together to ensure coordinated efforts occurred to effectively help all. Having previously established relationships with other organizations helped me represent the needs of the CNF and CNS communities. The CNF offers so many caregiver and patient resources and reaches many children with neurological illness. Through alignment and coordinated efforts with CNS, we are improving the lives of patients, families, and child neurology providers.
We have made significant progress together. Representing the needs of the child neurology community which includes child neurology providers is important.
Through my previous work, I worked to help child neurologists deliver effective and high-quality care in an efficient manner. Through CNF and CNS led efforts, we are developing clinical informatic and other tools to make implementation of quality measures and guidelines easier.
Getting to learn about CNS in these past years and being a presenter for the Presidential Symposium has given me the passion to contribute more to CNS. Sharing our work and those of others was the highlight of my academic career. Therefore, it would be an honor to serve as the councilor of the Midwest. I feel that having these strong relationships with many of the organizations that interface with CNS will help me in this role and help make CNS even stronger for years to come. These leadership experiences have helped me create a vision of collaboration, growth, and success for CNS.
What are the most challenging issues facing child neurologists today, and how would the CNS, under your leadership, help its members meet those challenges?
Our field is ever changing, creating challenges moving forward. The demands on child neurologists grows each year while compensation for services we provide decreases. The need for support and connections to ensure efficiency of clinical care delivery and the growth of our field is essential. Understanding how different groups operate and function will assist me if I were to be elected.
We need to continue to increase the number of child neurologists. CNS can greatly assist in cultivating awareness and interest in child neurology. Recently, the jointly administered CNS/CNF Swaiman scholarship program for medical students was expanded through a generous gift which will assist in bringing more students to our great field. Specifically, we have an opportunity to reach states with medical schools where few child neurology providers are available in the given state. Focusing on expanding our workforce with child neurologists from diverse backgrounds will strengthen our field. Work has started in this area with partnerships with CNF and I would like to continue to this work.
Advancements in our field have expanded tremendously within areas of lifesaving treatments, diagnostics, thus creating a need for child neurologists to stay informed due to this great expansion of knowledge. CNS is perfectly poised to ensure we deliver the information through the annual meeting, workshops, webinars, and other novel educational delivery mechanisms. Through my previous leadership, I have experience and have participated in creating such educational opportunities.
Access and affordability of treatments is an important challenge for our patients and their families. CNS can assist our members in understanding methods to help get treatments to the right children. In addition, CNS can partner with other organizations to advocate for the needs of children with neurological illnesses. Ensuring that the treatments are available to all is vital to decrease any potential disparities in care.
CNS has made strides to ensure our organization grows in conjunction with our diverse community. Ensuring inclusion and equity principles are the key to our future. These principles should continue to expand in how we grow and cultivate the membership and the leadership of CNS. I have learned through experiences in CNS and other organizations how important a focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) is to the health of an organization. By ensuring leadership positions are represented properly will allow all voices of CNS to be heard. In addition, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization allows us to best assist all children with neurological illness and their families.
In summary, our field faces challenges in our future. I am confident with the right leadership at CNS that we can overcome any challenges and be successful for years in providing the best for the child neurology community. I would be honored to serve as the councilor of the Midwest to assist in our mission.