The UW Health Interstitial Lung Disease Program has been selected to join the national Care Center Network of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), becoming the first program of its kind in Wisconsin and one of only 60 programs nationwide to earn the designation.

The PFF's Care Center Network is a collection of medical centers with expertise in accurately diagnosing and treating individuals with pulmonary fibrosis and that engages in education and research to help lessen the burden of the disease.

"A diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis can be overwhelming for patients and they are looking for resources to help them face this illness," said Nathan Sandbo, MD (pictured above), associate professor, Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the PFF Care Center at UW Health.

"We have a strong track record at UW Health of providing comprehensive multidisciplinary care, access to clinical trials of new therapies, and evaluation for lung transplantation for those patients with more advanced cases of the disease, said Dr. Sandbo. 

"As the only program in Wisconsin to be selected for this designation, we are honored to partner with PFF, to fill an important gap in the geographic availability of multidisciplinary care for patients, and to deliver the resources they need."

Resources:

• "UW Health Named to the Care Center Network of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation," UW Health, May 17, 2018 
• Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation