Dr. Dennis McGuire Joins Global Down Syndrome Foundation to Help Establish a Center of Excellence for Adult Care and Health Related Programs

Down syndrome expert McGuire will begin seeing adult patients with Down syndrome at the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic starting December 2013

Dennis McGuire
Dennis McGuire, PhD		 Barry Martin
Dr. Barry Martin

DENVER (Nov. 13, 2013) – The Global Down Syndrome Foundation (“Global”) has hired Down syndrome behavioral expert Dennis McGuire, Ph.D., to help establish a world-class medical care and research center for adults with Down syndrome under the umbrella of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome.

It is anticipated that the new center will contribute to research at the Crnic Institute, serve pediatric patients transitioning out of the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado, collaborate closely with the Crnic Institute’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center and build on the 12 years of expertise of the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic in providing primary care and consultations to adults with Down syndrome.

Through a grant provided by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, McGuire will start to see patients at the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic with the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Barry Martin.  The grant will assist the clinic to expand from two to four days a month on certain Wednesdays and Fridays already posted from December 2013 through April 2014.

“I am really pleased to work with the wonderful team at Global, Crnic and the Sie Center to provide the best possible service to people with Down syndrome and their families,” said McGuire. “This gives me the opportunity to spend time with unique and beautiful people with Down syndrome while also being able to train the trainer and share my knowledge with folks who will put it to excellent use.”

McGuire has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of mental health and developmental disabilities and is the former Director of Psychosocial Services for the Adult Down Syndrome Center of Lutheran General Hospital in suburban Chicago, the largest, most prestigious clinic for adults with Down syndrome in the United States. He helped establish the center, which serves over 4,000 unique adult patients with Down syndrome each year.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. McGuire help us focus on adults with Down syndrome in our state, our region, the U.S. and eventually around the world,” said Michelle Sie Whitten, executive director of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. “Our adults are so underserved so we will be working on the medical care, research and also some engaging health related programs. It is a bit daunting but very exciting!”

“Dr. McGuire is world-renowned for his work with adults with Down syndrome, and to have him join us will take the clinic to a whole new level”, said Dr. Martin. “With Dr. McGuire’s expertise and the backing of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation we will be able to see more patients, provide more services and bring the level of care pioneered by the Sie Center to the adult population.”

McGuire has joined the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for a year-long consulting period and will be organizing Global’s first “Adults with Down Syndrome Advisory Committee,” tasked with advising Global on programs and medical services as well as the best ways to disseminate information to care providers and families.

McGuire keynotes at events around the world, contributes to many publications and is the co-author of two prominent books about medical care for adults with Down syndrome: “Mental Wellness of Adults with Down Syndrome,” published in 2006, and “The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome,” published in 2011.

He received the National Down Syndrome Congress’ Theodore D. Tjossem Research Award in 2003 and the World Down Syndrome Day Scientific Award in 2010, and he was the featured speaker at the 2011 Global Down Syndrome Educational Series.

McGuire received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation
The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Formally established in 2009, the Foundation has the primary focus of supporting the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the U.S. committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal. The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show — the single-largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.  The Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences, including the Dare to Play Football and Cheer Camps, Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and Dare to Play Soccer Camps. The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome
The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome. The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy.  It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

About the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic
The Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic is a regional resource for people with Down syndrome and their families, caregivers, health care professionals, and others, who share in our dedication to living happier and healthier lives.

The Clinic is a referral clinic that serves the Rocky Mountain region and provides complete medical and psychosocial evaluations for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. It provides information regarding a patient’s physical and emotional healthcare needs, especially medical needs that are more common among adolescents and adults with Down syndrome.

###