BATEMAN HORNE CENTER

The Bateman Horne Center (BHC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit Center of Excellence (CoE) with a mission to empower patients, advance research and improve clinical care for all those impacted by ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) and FM (fibromyalgia), post-viral illness, and related conditions . Our three objectives are, 1) All ME/CFS and FM patients receive improved clinical care, 2) Research is advanced on diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS and FM, and 3) Patients and their advocates have direct access to education and support.

These are debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical need that cause enormous burden for patients, their caregivers, the healthcare system and society. This health crisis is caused by an absence of diagnostic tests, tools and treatments that perpetuate ME/CFS, FM, and post-viral illness as unsolved medical and scientific mysteries. Our unique value proposition is improving medical outcomes through early diagnosis leading to discovery of diagnostic and treatment biomarkers.

The Bateman Horne Center (BHC) is a non-profit, interdisciplinary Center of Excellence where clinical care, research, and education meet to collectively advance the diagnosis and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), post-viral syndromes, and related comorbidities.

BHC provides expert consultation and experienced clinical care providing patients with a differential diagnosis and health management plan. 

BHC drives innovative and emerging research pathways to define core signs, symptoms, and decrements in specific functioning.

BHC provides educational resources and programming to informed by our research and clinical care.

Bateman Horne Center (BHC) successfully navigated 2021, our second full year under COVID health protocols, with important advances in the battle against myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and now long COVID (ME/CFS, FM, LC). Continued support from generous donors and grantors combined with a second federal Paycheck Protection Plan CARES grant (PPP) made this possible. Telehealth is here to stay and has proven to be an important and viable consult delivery tool for care especially with remote and less-mobile patients.

BHC hired two new providers who have quickly embraced the BHC mission and are delivering high quality services under the mentorship of Drs. Bateman and Yellman. This additional capacity gave BHC a unique opportunity to see a group of long COVID patients experiencing long hauler syndrome. This experience provided unique insights to the symptomatic characteristics of patients in their first year of a post-viral syndrome.

BHC’s proactive approach to studying and assisting long COVID patients opened the door to expanded research partnerships with the University of Utah and existing NIH partners. BHC added several high-quality research coordinators that brought a new level of proficiency and expertise to help drive these opportunities.

BHC also strengthened its position as the leader in the production and distribution of educational resources for patients and specifically for providers. We expanded our website offerings and virtual trainings, and have been engaged as the recognized experts on these illnesses for several 2022 Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) series with key academic partners.

Clinical Care

The pandemic inserted BHC into the global conversation of post-COVID-19 sequelae (PASC or long COVID). BHC contributed its voice and experience and:
Added two additional advance practice clinicians to expand capacity.
Lectured and mentored several specialties across the health care spectrum.
Engaged long COVID patients and collaborated with the U of Utah Long COVID clinic and its providers.

What’s Next
Expand provider and support teams.
Mentor and train providers.

Research

Eligible patients participated in a variety of ongoing research opportunities including biomarker discovery, developing point-of-care measures, and clinical trials. These efforts drive real-time learning by generating knowledge and data that are translated into innovative research projects and partnerships, educational assets, and inform clinical care.

Worked with first year long COVID patients to demonstrate that early diagnosis and management can mitigate progression and inform the root causes of ME/CFS/FM.

Long COVID patients participated in BHC’s NIH-funded ME/CFS research to determine the similarities and differences between ME/CFS and long COVID.

Partnership formed with the University of Utah on the NIH PASC Initiative.

BHC’s unique collective of ME/CFS/FM and post-viral expertise continues to be in demand for research collaborations.

What’s Next
Expand academic partnerships.
Conduct BHC sponsored research.


Education

BHC created education that transforms the way patients are cared for. BHC accelerated its activities to bridge the gap and translate the science into clinical practice throughout 2021 highlighted by:


Increased repository of online resources making BHC’s website the respected/trusted source for researchers, clinicians, patients, and their care network.

Lectured and held continuing education events reaching over 800 clinicians across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway.

Served as an active participant, consultant, and mentor to the long COVID Alliance, University of Utah Health, Utah Medical Association, Canada’s ICanCME Research Network, and others.

New video series on ME/CFS, Orthostatic Intolerance, and long COVID with an aggregate viewership of 30,000 + in the first five months of release.

YouTube asset views during the past 18 months exceeds 210,000 with over 100,000 viewed hours.

Support groups, Q&A sessions with BHC providers.

What’s Next
New and deeper academic collaborations.
New provider materials and mentoring opportunities.