NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders (NJCTS) was proud to be among six finalists selected for the 2015 NJBiz Healthcare Heroes Award in the Education Hero Organization category.
The 2015 Healthcare Heroes awards program honors the best individuals and organizations that are making a significant impact on the quality of health care in New Jersey. Winners were announced during a breakfast ceremony held at The Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset, NJ, on June 23.
Other finalists in the Education Hero Organization category were AtlantiCare, CentraState Healthcare System, Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy, Meridian Health, NJCTS, and winner The Liberty Science Center. NJCTS congratulates all winners, finalists, and nominees.
Accepting the certificate on behalf of NJCTS was Executive Director Faith W. Rice.
NJCTS was formally initiated in 2004, but Rice’s grassroots efforts in Tourette Syndrome advocacy trace back earlier to when her son was diagnosed with the disorder. Before establishing NJCTS, Rice was in marketing, human resources, and strategic planning with the IBM Corporation. That extensive for-profit experience has allowed her to structure NJCTS as a non-profit organization that promotes collaboration and partnerships among individuals, universities, hospitals and other resources to provide services and support for the 1 in 100 children and their families affected by TS and its associated disorders.
These collaborative efforts have resulted in the formation of the world’s first Tourette Syndrome Cell & DNA Sharing Repository and a Tourette Syndrome Clinic (both at Rutgers University), a School and Faculty Education program serving schools across New Jersey, and a Patient-Centered Medical Education program which has armed a new generation of resident physicians with the tools necessary to properly diagnose and treat Tourette Syndrome.
NJCTS is the nation’s first Center of Excellence for Tourette Syndrome (TS). Through partnerships and collaborations, NJCTS provides services, support, and education for families; outreach and training for medical and educational professionals; and advocacy for collaborative research for better treatments and a cure for TS.
