Kootenai | Kootenai Health | Issue 2, 2018

By Andrea Nagel For many years, Kootenai Health, Kootenai Clinic Neurology and other community providers have been providing quality care to patients with epilepsy. That care has reached a new level now that Cliff Hampton, M.D., has received certification as northern Idaho’s only epileptologist. After practicing with Kootenai Clinic Neurology for nearly three years, Dr. Hampton is excited to bring this subspecialty to the region. “Epilepsy is one of the most common diseases we treat in our clinic,” he said. “I was drawn to epilepsy during my training as a physician and spent all my extra time working with the neurology faculty and reading EEGs during my residency. It’s rewarding to make such a big difference in someone’s life.” Epilepsy affects 1 in 100 people—most of them children, adolescents and older adults. Because of the age demographics in our region, northern Idaho sees a higher number of epilepsy patients compared to other areas. “We’re hoping to build more contacts and resources in our community that will help these patients,” said Dr. Hampton. “Because the highest percentages of new diagnoses are in adults over the age of 65, and we have a large population of retirees, it’s important for us to continue to grow to support them.” In order to build a more robust epilepsy program, Dr. Hampton wants to focus on three major goals. First-time seizure clinic Dr. Hampton wants to create a protocol for when a patient Specialized treatment To learn more about Kootenai Clinic Neurology, visit KH.org/neurology or call (208) 625-5100 . Get to know northern Idaho’s first epileptologist— and how he plans to improve care for people with epilepsy comes to the emergency department for their first seizure. “Experiencing a seizure for the first time can be quite scary,” he said. “I want new patients to be able to see a specialist within a week of coming to the hospital or their primary care physician. We do our best to get them in quickly now, but sometimes it can be difficult for patients to schedule appointments with specialists.” Epilepsy and neurology monitoringunit In the future, Dr. Hampton would like to help develop an epilepsy monitoring unit in the hospital for epilepsy and neurology patients. “We’re currently sending many patients to Spokane or Seattle when we have the capability and technology to treat them here,” he said. “We just need the designated space to make Specialty Care for Epilepsy Patients 8