Advice for Patients, Caregivers and Care Partners
Welcome to Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, where we strive to:
- Treat your conditions and keep your brain as healthy as possible
- Provide a support system for you and your loved ones
- Offer you and your loved ones opportunities to participate in clinical research
Beyond Your Appointment
Reach out to a care partner for support. The most successful patients are those with the most engaged support system. While you may not think you need assistance, a ride from a friend on a day your energy level is low or an offer to pick up a few groceries can lighten the burden of brain disease.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help from friends, family, or from those who have traveled the journey of brain disease before you — including the team here at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Patients tell us we’re “more than a doctor’s office. We’ve also heard “Hope is knowing that you are not alone in the journey you’re taking.” We are here to guide and help you along your journey, and we’ll tell you how in the coming pages.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide your care. We look forward to your visit. Should you have any questions or need to postpone or cancel your appointment , please contact us at 702.483.6000, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. PT.
With warm regards,
Dylan Wint, MD
Director, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health – Las Vegas
Camille and Larry Ruvo Chair for Brain Health
Las Vegas Legacy Chair in Neuroscience Education
Our Model of Care
At Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, we approach brain diseases in two phases, with neurologic experts who specialize in each phase:
- Diagnostic Phase: Physician providers evaluate the cause(s) of your symptoms, outline a treatment plan, and refer you for ongoing management.
- Management Phase: Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) — nurse practitioners and physician assistants — deliver state-of-the-art ongoing treatment, in collaboration with the diagnosing physician provider.
Other participants in your care will include patient service specialists, administrative assistants, medical assistants and nurse care coordinators working alongside your providers to keep your brain as healthy as possible. Your entire neurology team works together in collaboration throughout the course of your care.
You can reach your care team during standard business hours by contacting us at 702.483.6000, or send a message 24/7 via our electronic health management and communications tool, MyChart.
Preparing for Your First Appointment
As with meeting any new person who may play an important role in your life, meeting your new provider for the first time may seem a little daunting. We’d like to offer some information to help you prepare for your visit and perhaps feel more at ease.
Practical details:
- Plenty of free self-parking is located adjacent to our front door. Get directions
- Preview our campus via video
- Read about what to expect and review our no-show and behavior guidelines
- Use our medication list to track the medication use your provider will ask about
Patients and families tell us we’re “their place” for care and support for brain disease, and we’re ready to be your place, too.
MyChart: Communicating With Your Care Team
We’ll introduce you to MyChart, a secure online portal you and care partners you authorize can use to access your health records 24/7, message your care team for medication refills, or check in for an appointment. You may even choose to have virtual visits via MyChart.
Users tell us MyChart is an “all-inclusive toolbox for managing my health” and a “timely, accurate way to communicate directly with the care team in our own words.”
Learn how MyChart can help you manage your care and sign up now.
Maximizing Your Relationship With Us
You can start even before your first appointment. Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health offers an array of resources to support our patients and families beyond the traditional "doctor's appointment".
We encourage you to watch a video series in which our providers introduce you to these offerings, many of which are available at no cost thanks to our generous donors.
Enjoy some New Thinking about brain health in our twice-yearly magazine.
Our campus is small enough to be approachable, yet large enough to conveniently contain the services you may use for:
Diagnosis:
- Imaging (Nuclear imaging, MRI, CT and PET/CT) for insight into form and function of brain and beyond
- Neuropsychology to better understand how the brain is working
Ongoing Treatment:
- Physical, occupational, speech and music therapy to empower patients to live as independently as possible via treatment interventions tailored to the needs of those with brain disorders and meet your individual goals for maximizing quality of life.
- Counseling from our behavioral health team to improve quality of life, coping skills and emotional well-being for patients and caregivers affected by brain disorders. Our team helps you reflect on how daily habits, career and family challenges — layered on top of the diagnosis of a neurological disorder — can affect your overall health and wellness
Research:
- Brain research to advance new treatments and diagnostic approaches. We want our research to represent and support the rich diversity of our Nevada communities. You and your brain can help.
Maximizing Your Understanding of Your Brain
Participate in free educational, therapeutic and support services offered daily. From group music therapy, to yoga, to support groups, to lectures about brain health by our providers, many of our programs are offered online. Consider inviting friends and family to join you from across town or across the country.
Connect with our social work team for one-on-one advice on community resources available to help you and your support network navigate brain disease.
Learn more about brain disease by browsing our Lynne Ruffin-Smith e-Library, with free access 24/7 to materials addressing the diseases treated at our center. Or visit our physical library while on campus: our on-site librarian can guide you through a selection of more than 1,500 books you can borrow.
A diagnosis isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of understanding
We will answer your questions and guide you through your treatment journey. In collaboration with colleagues across an array of specialties, we can help you manage your condition, stay active and live your best life possible. When you are ready to do so, we can even provide advice on how to share your news of your condition with friends and family.
We’ve heard “I may not be able to do all the things I used to do, but I enjoy the things I can do” and “The diagnosis was harder on all those around me than it was on me. It was helpful to focus on what I could do to affect my disease progression and set new expectations.” Another person in our care likes to explain, “I’m still me, just more forgetful, tired and clumsy.
While each family’s journey with brain disease presents different road hazards and warning signs and progresses at a different pace, we’re prepared to help you navigate some common points along the route, from the physical to the social to the emotional.
Caring for the Caregiver
Cognitive disorders, movement disorders and multiple sclerosis challenge families, who rise to the occasion by becoming care partners for their loved one. Patients rely heavily on care partners — friends, family and loved ones — who often suffer tremendous stress, particularly when they lack knowledge and experience.
At Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, we hear over and over again, “I was surprised to discover I had become a caregiver.”
Typically, individuals with a brain disorder need help with daily activities and interactions. If you’re close to someone in this situation, in some way your own life and responsibilities are also being affected — physically, emotionally, socially or economically.
The most effective care partners are well-informed and use help and support from all available resources to ensure they don’t sacrifice their own well-being during their caregiving journey.
We’re here to care for the caregiver, just as much as we — and they — are here for the patient. Many tell us “we get them” when no one else does, and that “the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is a place where they can be themselves.” Come as you are. We’ll do our best to meet you where that is.
Via video, hear from these care partners how our center has helped those who have traveled the journey of brain disease.
Additional Community Resources
Enjoy a free guide to resources for families in Nevada living with dementia: “Navigating the Dementia Journey” is produced by our collaborator Dementia Friendly Nevada.
For additional information and support related to diseases treated at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, we encourage you to contact the respective disease associations, many of whom facilitate local and online support groups.
Cognitive Disorders
Alzheimer’s Association
alz.org
Southern Nevada Regional Office: 702.248.2770
Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD)
theaftd.org
National office: 267.514.7221
info@theaftd.org
Lewy Body Dementia Association
lbda.org
National office: 404.935.6444
Movement Disorders
Cure PSP
psp.org
National office: 347.294.2893 (CURE)
info@curepsp.org
Huntington’s Disease Society of America
lasvegas.hdsa.org
National office: 212.242.1968
HDSAinfo@HDSA.org
Parkinson’s Foundation
parkinson.org
National office: 800.473.4636
contact@parkinson.org
Parkinson’s Place Las Vegas
parkinsonsplacelv.org
parkinsonsplacelv@gmail.com
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis Society of America
mymsaa.org
National office
800.532.7667
western@mymsaa.org
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
nationalmssociety.org
Southern California & Nevada Chapter
702.736.7272
