Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas

The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas is to improve the lives of people affected by epilepsy through education, advocacy, research, and connection.

A world without epilepsy; lives free from seizures.

Goal One: Expand treatment options by facilitating access to the best care and treatment through support for innovative therapies and research to eliminate seizures, side effects, and epilepsy-related mortaily.

Goal Two: Improve acceptance of people through education and awareness by providing comprehensive information on epilepsy, available therapies, providers & services to increase awareness of epilepsy and EFCST.

Goal Three: Enhance our impact through organizational excellence by utilizing best practices so that we can continue to be the leading epilepsy organization across the state.

EFCST makes significant investments in leadership development. EFCST's most recent leadership development investment is the Major Gifts Certification of its Chief Development Officer Amber Sizer, CNP. This certification provides methods for Ms. Sizer to further diversify fundraising efforts, manage donors, manage caseloads, set strategic goals, and analyze fundraising efforts. The certification process takes 13 weeks, with an estimated 3-5 hours of work per each of the 8 modules. The course costs $1,997. EFCST prioritizes leadership and staff development. The Grants Management Associate received Grantsmanship Training in Spring 2021, and the Programs Associate is currently enrolled in courses for Community Health Worker certification. EFCST's leadership team values its highly diverse and educated staff and aims for constant improval so that employees at all levels will succeed..

The Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas (EFCST) is the only organization solely dedicated to the health and welfare of the nearly 160,000 individuals, including 38,000 children, living with epilepsy in its 79-county Central and South Texas service area. EFCST provides essential, life-changing services that the epilepsy community relies on. A sudden stop to any one of EFCST’s programs and services would be detrimental. In February 2021, the North American winter storm hit, and its catastrophic effects hit Texas the hardest. With power outages, sold-out grocery stores, boil water notices, and pharmacy shortages, we felt scared and powerless. Without a moment for the shock to subside, EFCST’s leadership staff rallied. People with epilepsy have a wide range of seizure triggers, including lack of nutrients, temperature, dehydration, and missed medication; the #1 cause of breakthrough seizures is missed. EFCST sat back in horror, wondering how we would reach those who needed us now more than ever. The leadership staff quickly notified the National Epilepsy Foundation Office (EF) of the deadly conditions and had all emergency epilepsy calls rerouted to EF, who temporarily had more stable phone lines than EFCST. Leadership staff with power worked closely with EF to reach constituents in need. One of the most pressing concerns was constituents’ inability to obtain their Anti-Seizure Medications from their pharmacy. EFCST provided sample medications in the Seizure Outreach Clinic, and once those resources were depleted, EFCST leadership staff leveraged their partnerships with pharmaceutical reps to obtain medication samples. For over a month after the storm, EFCST administered medications to nearly 100 patients whose pharmacies could not fill their prescriptions. In a state suffering from loss of food, water, and power, EFCST provided life-saving services to the epilepsy community.