Foundation receives $100,000 to advance MS care

The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) recently received a generous donation of $100,000 from EMD Serono Inc., in honor of June Halper, MSN, APN-C, FAAN, MSCN. Ms. Halper a longtime pioneer in the comprehensive care movement for multiple sclerosis (MS), and leading nurse practitioner and MS advocate, passed away on July 24, 2024, at the age of 86, working until her final days as CEO of the CMSC, FCMSC and IOMSN (International Organization of MS Nurses). 

Since 1978, Ms. Halper has specialized in MS and was the founder of the MS Center in Teaneck and served as its Executive Director, until co-founding CMSC. She served as CMSC's President from 1995 to 1997 and as its Executive Director/CEO from 1992 until her death. Ms. Halper was passionate about multiple sclerosis (MS) nursing care, providing lifelong service to the field. Through her leadership, she transformed the landscape of treatment and support for people with MS.

EMD Serono's gift to the June Halper MS Nursing Scholarship Fund will allow the FCMSC to provide high quality, patient-centered training programs to encourage and prepare more nurses-in-training for the rigorous practice of MS care. This generous donation will also play a key role in the continued success of the FCMSC Workforce of the Future programs, which are designed to encourage neurologists, researchers, nursing professionals, mental health professionals, and rehabilitation professionals to focus their careers on the delivery of MS care, thus growing the workforce needed to care for this patient population. To date, hundreds of healthcare professionals have directly benefited from FCMSC training and mentorship programs.

EMD Serono, the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the U.S., works to transform lives by developing and delivering meaningful therapies, and working to truly understand and respond to the therapeutic and support needs of individual patients.

"We are indebted to the dedication and legacy of work that June Halper provided to the MS community and the nursing profession," said Jeffrey Wilken, PhD, President of CMSC.

Together with her team's hard work to make the lives of people living with MS better, this generous donation from EMD Serono will help transform MS care for patients and their families across the globe for years to come."

Jeffrey Wilken, PhD, President, The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers

Ms. Halper earned her MSN in Nursing from Seton Hall University. In addition to her advocacy and leadership work, she served as an Editor or Co-editor for numerous publications including Multiple Sclerosis: A Self-Care Guide to Wellness and Nursing Practices in Multiple Sclerosis: A Core Curriculum.