Journal of IiME Volume 3 Issue 1 www.investinme.org P PRROOFFIILLEESS ooff PPRREESSEENNTTEERRSS aatt tthhee IINNVVEESSTT iinn MMEE I INNTTEERRNNAATTIIOONNAALL MMEE//CCFFSS CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE Additional links for Dr Kerr: Jonathan Kerr, Seven genomic subtypes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME): a detailed analysis of gene networks and clinical phenotypes. J Clin Pathol. 2007 Dec 5. ub ahead of print] PMID: 18057078 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] D Drr .. BBaa rr bbaa rr aa BBaauummggaa rr tt eenn MMDD Project leader , ME/CFS-center, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål Dr Barbara Baumgarten was born in Hamburg, Germany, and moved to Norway in 1980. She studied medicine at the University of Oslo and from 1992-93 she worked at a hospital in internal medicine and surgery. From 1993 she has been working in General Practice, with a two year assignment at a nursing home. Since 1996 she has had her own practice and has been seeing patients with ME since 1997. From April 2006 she has been working one day a week as a GP at the department for infectious diseases, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo. Her work there was to look at the need of specialized medical services for ME-patients. That has resulted in a new ME-clinic. Since August 2008 her main job at Ullevål University Hospital has been leader for the new MEcentre, which was officially opened on December 11th 2008. The ME Centre in Oslo is unique in that patients have been closely involved in its formation. Dr Baumgarten has given many lectures about ME for GP’s, at hospitals and for the Norwegian ME Association. She is a board member at the Oslo branch of the Norwegian Medical Association. P Prreesseennttaatt iioonn DDrr .. BBaauummggaarr tteenn:: S Seerrvviicceess ffoorr ccoorr rreecctt ddiiaaggnnooss ii ss a anndd MMaannaaggeemmeenntt //TT rreeaattmmeenntt ooff MMEE Thanks to the ME-patient organizations in Norway, Norwegian politicians have become aware of the problems ME patients face, both concerning diagnosis and treatment of their condition. Some years ago there were only a few doctors who knew enough about Post infectious fatigue syndrome, as it was most commonly called then, to set the diagnosis. One of the doctors who would recognize the condition was Dr. Oddbjørn Brubakk who was head of the department for infectious diseases at Ullevål University Hospital in Oslo. Two patients had approached him in 2003 and asked if it was possible to start a coping course for patients with ME since there was little other treatment to offer them. A group including the patient representatives and professionals from the medical division and the Patient education center at Ullevaal started working on a concept for a course that has been running twice a year since 2004. Therefore, when political awareness around ME was growing Ullevaal University Hospital was asked by the Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority to have a closer look at the needs of that patient group. Since 2006 I have been working on a concept for a ME-clinic and last year we got funded by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority to start the clinic as a project. We have today an out-patient clinic where patients can come to get diagnosed, and where they can get help in coping with ME by a multi professional team that includes an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, a dietitian and a social worker. Patients get help to learn energy economizing, relaxation techniques, dietary advice and advice with their problems with the social security system. When working on the concept I became aware that the permanently bedbound patients wouldn’t be able Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) Page 67/76
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