News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2011
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Poyant
Public Information Officer
Southcoast Health System
Office: 508-961-5280
Cell: 774-634-1460
Fax: 508-961-5876
Pager: 508-387-2532
poyants@southcoast.org
www.southcoast.org/news/releases/
Southcoast announces Southcoast Brain & Spine Center
New center brings comprehensive care to local patients with neurological brain and spine
disorders
DARTMOUTH, Mass. — Southcoast Health System announced today the formation of
the Southcoast Brain & Spine Center, a regional center that provides the comprehensive delivery
of care for patients with neurological brain and spine disorders through surgical and non-surgical
treatment options.
“Patients no longer have to leave the region to receive advanced, comprehensive health
care services. We have invested in the latest technology and facilities so our expert physicians can
deliver advanced care locally, right here in the South Coast region,” said Keith A. Hovan,
President & CEO of Southcoast Health System and Southcoast Hospitals Group. “The Southcoast
Brain & Spine Center establishes a model of collaboration through a formal partnership of
physicians and other specialists to ensure that the right care is delivered in a timely and efficient
manner that is convenient for our patients.”
Physician specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, physiatry and pain management
collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of physical therapists, psychologists, chiropractors and
nurses to offer the most advanced treatments and care available for neurological, brain and spine
disorders.
“The new center offers surgical and non-surgical treatment options for patients,” said
Carter Hunt, Vice President of Clinical Services, Surgical Care Center. “Non-surgical techniques
are often the first course of treatment, but when surgery is an option, our highly skilled and
experienced neurosurgeons are the most qualified to make the determination. Through the
collaborative efforts of our providers at the center, patients are quickly routed to the appropriate
care they need seamlessly.”
The Southcoast Brain & Spine Center offers patients care throughout the region through
Southcoast Health System’s seamless network of providers and inpatient services. The main
outpatient office is located at 480 Hawthorn Street in Dartmouth, providing patients with ample
parking and easy access to Route 140 and Interstate 195. Patients can also receive care at the
center’s two satellite outpatient offices, which are located at 534 Prospect Street in Fall River and
at 100 Rosebrook Way in Wareham. Inpatient care is provided at all three Southcoast hospitals
with surgical services offered at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and at St. Luke’s
Hospital in New Bedford.
Complete care with the latest treatment
The Southcoast Brain & Spine Center uses the most sophisticated techniques, treatments
and technology to treat disorders of the brain, nerve and spine. The center treats patients who
have a wide array of neurological and brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, headaches,
stroke and movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. The center also treats issues
specifically causing chronic back and neck pain, including disc disease and herniation and
compression neuropathies, as well as injuries and disease of the brain, including treatment of
cancerous and non-cancerous tumors and epilepsy. The center also has specialists who treat
sleeping disorders.
Neurosurgery
Surgical and non-surgical treatments are coordinated through Southcoast Neurosurgery,
which includes the practices of neurosurgeons Matthew Philips, MD, Michael Harrison, MD, and
Alvin Marcovici, MD, who are fellowship-trained in the nation’s leading neurosurgical centers.
Southcoast’s neurosurgeons are pioneers in their field, bringing the latest surgical treatments —
including minimally invasive surgery, microsurgery and skull base surgical techniques.
“We can do essentially any neurosurgical procedure here, at St. Luke’s or Charlton
Memorial hospitals,” Dr. Philips said. “We treat our patients in their own community with
exceptional outcomes and the highest standard of care available. Southcoast has made this
commitment and now through the collaboration of practitioners at the brain and spine center we
can perform complicated surgical procedures in the community setting with all of the support
necessary for an optimal recovery.”
Surgical procedures at the center use the latest equipment and advanced technology for
pinpoint accuracy and the least invasive techniques possible. For the patient this means an
accurate diagnosis, greater safety, less trauma that result in shorter recovery times. [See Advanced
Technology below]
Neurological services
Neurology services are offered through Southcoast Neurology and includes the practices
of neurologists Bruce Abbott, MD, Michele Harvey, MD, Anna Somerto, MD, and Maya
Vaysbrot, DO.
Disorders affecting the nervous system often require lifelong care. Southcoast Neurology
provides a personalized, comprehensive approach to address the many aspects of complex
neurological conditions to help patients achieve their goals and maintain quality of life. To help
develop the most accurate diagnosis and subsequent treatment plan, the neurology team offers an
array of neurodiagnostic services, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography
(EMG).
“The team we have assembled at the new Southcoast Brain & Spine Center is available to
work closely with our patients to provide a direct link between their care and the care they are
receiving from their primary care physician,” said Dr. Abbott, Medical Director of Neurology &
Sleep Medicine. “By creating a team that includes an adequate number of inpatient and outpatient
doctors, along with support staff and ancillary services, we can administer the kind of
comprehensive services that cannot be provided in any other setting.”
Multidisciplinary team

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: The Southcoast Brain & Spine Center partners
with community physician specialists who offer physical medicine and rehabilitation
services — also known as physiatry — to help you regain the highest possible level of
function.

Physical Therapy: One of the critical factors in the success of any type of brain and
spine care is rehabilitation and recovery. Southcoast Rehabilitation Services offers
extensive spine rehabilitation program with specially trained physical therapists who can
address the unique needs of brain, nerve and spine disorders. Southcoast Rehab has 11
locations throughout the region and will be conveniently located at the Dartmouth site at
the end of the year.

Chiropractic Services: Providers at the center closely with specially trained chiropractic
physicians to provide chiropractic services that help restore normal join movement,
regain strength and relieve pain.
Advanced Technology
The Southcoast Brain & Spine Center utilizes the newest technology to help diagnose and
speed the recovery of its patients.
Southcoast has the most advanced image-guided surgical navigation systems available.
The sophisticated neurodiagnostics labs at Charlton Memorial and St. Luke’s hospitals are run
by specially trained, nationally certified technicians who have the exceptional skills essential to
the success of any surgical or medical treatment of the brain and spine.
The center’s intra-operative monitoring system provides the vital precision needed in
surgery on the delicate tissues and nerve pathways of the brain and spine. For the patient, this
means an accurate diagnosis, greater safety, less trauma and shorter recovery times.
Stereotactic radiosurgery is one of the most precise forms of radiation therapy used to
non-surgically treat tumors in the brain. The precision offered provides the ability to preserve
healthy tissues by delivering targeted radiation, with the help of three-dimensional imaging
technology, at much higher doses than traditional radiation therapy.
Southcoast Health System network of providers
In addition to seamless care provided at the three Southcoast Hospitals, patients treated
through the center also have a direct link to advanced services through the Southcoast Health
System network of providers including oncology services at the Southcoast Centers for Cancer
Care and home care services through Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association. For a complete list
visit www.southcoast.org/map
The Southcoast Brain & Spine Center is designated as a Blue Cross Blue Shield Center of
Distinction based on best practices and quality of outcomes. For more information about the
Southcoast Brain & Spine Center call toll free 855-778-0088 or visit
www.southcoast.org/brainandspine .
About Southcoast Health System & Southcoast Hospitals Group
Southcoast Health System is a community based health delivery system with multiple
access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern
Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals that make up
Southcoast Hospitals Group — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in
New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.
Southcoast provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty
and heart rhythm services, comprehensive cancer care, neurosurgery, weight loss surgery,
orthopedic surgery, advanced imaging services and is the only provider of maternity services in
the region. Southcoast is a not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of
the community to provide services. More information is available online at
www.southcoast.org. Connect to Southcoast through social media
at www.southcoast.org/connect/.
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