SEATTLE – (April 8, 2016) – Lynne P. Taylor, MD, FAAN, FANA, has been appointed medical director of the ALS Clinic at Virginia Mason, the only program in the Northwest to have earned the ALS Association’s Gold Standard Certification.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a mysterious, progressive neurodegenerative disease that does not yet have a cure. According to the ALS Association, more than 5,600 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year, which amounts to 15 new cases every day. It is estimated as many as 30,000 people in the United States have the disease at any given time.

Dr. Taylor is board certified in neurology and neuro-oncology with subspecialties in hospice care and palliative medicine. She practices at Virginia Mason Hospital and Seattle Medical Center on First Hill. In addition to her roles with Virginia Mason, Dr. Taylor is an adjunct associate professor of medicine/neurology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and a Fellow of the American Neurological Association (FAAN).

“Northwest residents affected by Lou Gehrig’s disease should feel very lucky that they now have a high-caliber specialist and tireless advocate heading up the region’s most comprehensive ALS Clinic,” said Rebecca Moore, executive director of ALS Association Evergreen Chapter. “Dr. Taylor is a true gem and we couldn’t be more pleased that she is now overseeing the program at Virginia Mason.”

Among her professional accolades, Boston magazine voted Dr. Taylor a “Top Doctor” in 2012-2013; she was named a “Boston Super Doctor” in 2013; Seattle Met magazine recognized her as a “Top Doc” in 2009-2010; and Seattle magazine named her a “Top Doc” in 2010-2011.

She earned a medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where she did an internship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital before completing a residency in neurology at University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Taylor then completed a fellowship in neuro-oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Dr. Taylor is a native of Birmingham, England. She and her husband have two adult sons.

The ALS Clinic at Virginia Mason treats as many as 60 ALS patients at any given time. They benefit from an uncommon, multidisciplinary approach to care involving providers from neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, speech therapy, physical and occupational therapy, neuropsychology, respiratory therapy, nutrition and patient advocacy. Once a week, the team assembles in a patient care conference to discuss each patient and their individual needs, and then provides phone follow up between visits.

About Virginia Mason

Virginia Mason, founded in 1920, is a nonprofit regional health care system based in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. In the Puget Sound region, the system includes 336-bed Virginia Mason Hospital; a primary and specialty care group practice of more than 480 physicians; regional medical centers in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Federal Way, Kirkland, Issaquah and Lynnwood; Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed and built specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS; Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research; and Virginia Mason Institute, which trains health care professionals and others from around the world in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative management methodology for continually improving quality, safety and efficiency. Virginia Mason online: VirginiaMason.org    

Virginia Mason also includes Yakima-based Memorial Family of Services, which includes Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, a 226-bed facility serving the Yakima Valley in Central Washington since 1950. Memorial Family of Services comprises primary care practices and specialty care services, including high quality cardiac care, a continuum of cancer care, hospice care, and advanced services for children with special health care needs. Memorial online: YakimaMemorial.org    

Media Contact:
Gale Robinette
Media Relations Manager
Virginia Mason Health System
(206) 341-1509
gale.robinette@VirginiaMason.org