Kaleida Health Epilepsy Centers achieve Level 4 NAEC Accreditation

Updated: Monday, April 27, 2026 3:47 PM

Kaleida Health Epilepsy Centers achieve Level 4 NAEC Accreditation

This year, both our adult and pediatric Kaleida Health epilepsy centers, including The James H. Cummings Foundation Epilepsy Monitoring Center at Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo (GCH Buffalo), have again achieved accreditation as Level 4 National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) - a significant milestone in our journey toward providing exceptional care for patients with epilepsy.

Our state-of-the-art 12-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Center, housed at GCH Buffalo, is the only center of its kind in Western New York. It offers a broad range of evaluation services and sophisticated therapies for children and adults suffering from seizures. Staffed by board-certified epileptologists from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, our center specializes in the comprehensive diagnosis and management of patients of all ages with refractory epilepsy.

This accreditation underscores our commitment to excellence and innovation in the treatment of epilepsy. A level four designation highlights professional expertise and facilities that provide the highest level of medical and surgical evaluations and treatments for patients with complex epilepsy. Such centers provide intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring, as well as extensive medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment, and offer a complete evaluation for epilepsy surgery. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication and collaboration between the departments of neurology and neurosurgery within Kaleida Health, as well as with the UBMD Neurology and Neurosurgery programs. Collaboration with Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute, particularly in the utilization of novel surgical procedures, has been crucial to our success.

At the heart of this achievement is the expertise and leadership of Jonathan Riley, MD, who has been the lead surgeon and champion for the epilepsy surgery program, alongside Assaf Berger, MD, and Renee Reynolds, MD. Their dedication to advancing neurosurgical techniques and their invaluable contributions to our epilepsy program have been integral to our success. The NAEC IV program is led by Arie Weinstock, MD, FAES. Additionally, Ping Li, MD, serves as the co-director for adult NAEC, while Renee Reynolds, MD, serves as the co-director for the pediatric epilepsy NAEC program.

Our epilepsy program is strengthened by the contributions of crucial faculty members, including Robert Glover, MD, Osman Farooq, MD, Sarah Finnegan, MD, PhD, Amanda Schwandt, DO, and Alexus Ludwig, DO. We are grateful for the expertise of Joy Parrish, PhD, neuropsychologist, David Hojnacki, MD, and Puneet Gupta, MD, neuroimaging, and Robert Miletich, MD, PhD, in PET imaging. Together, their expertise and dedication ensure excellence in epilepsy care and research.

In the past year, we welcomed Thomas Zervos, MD, an accomplished pediatric neurosurgeon who has hit the ground running. Dr. Zervos, in collaboration with Dr. Riley and our pediatric epileptologists, has introduced corpus callosotomy using laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) with ClearPoint Neuro technology-currently available only at Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo. This minimally invasive approach reduces operative complications and blood loss while expanding treatment options for children with severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy, including Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and refractory infantile spasms.

At the same time, we have advanced our use of SEEG. SEEG is a minimally invasive procedure that can help pinpoint the precise source of seizure onset and allow for targeted treatment. This makes treatments like responsive neurostimulation (RNS) and deep brain stimulation more effective, even for patients with complex epilepsy.

For example, one patient had widespread brain abnormalities and was previously told surgery wasn't possible. But by using this combined approach, doctors discovered that the seizures were mainly coming from two areas - the pulvinar (a part of the thalamus) and the hippocampus. Because of that, they were able to place RNS electrodes exactly where they were needed, which led to a major improvement in seizure control.

Achieving Level 4 NAEC achievement is a testament to the power of collaboration, as UBMD Neurology, UBMD Neurosurgery and Kaleida Health teams work closely together, supported by a dedicated team of technicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, to deliver the highest standard of care for individuals living with epilepsy in our community.