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The University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) Program has been in existence for more than 30 years, and the team has been evaluating and treating patients since 1983.
It is one of 16 federally funded programs and the only program of its kind in Florida. The program has been funded continuously with federal National Hansens Disease (HD) Program grants and contracts from HRSA.
The Medical Director, Andrea D. Maderal, M.D., an Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery and specialist in complex medical dermatology, began directing the program in 2019. She took over for Anne Burdick, M.D., M.P.H. who had been leading the program for 27 years. The HD Nurse Coordinator, Liliana Zucki, A.P.R.N., recently joined the program, and assists the medical director in patient care, performs neurosensory testing, coordinates consultative services, and provides patient education and counseling.
The leprosy program has a dedicated experienced team of medical specialists and allied health professionals providing outpatient medical and diagnostic services for HD and its related conditions. The medical team includes ophthalmology and podiatry specialists. Inpatient care for Miami-Dade County residents is available at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
The leprosy program provides services to persons in the continental United States and to individuals in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa who have dual citizenship or residency in the United States.
As of June 2017, the program had 223 registered people with 26 active cases with a confirmed diagnosis on multidrug antibiotic therapy, 15 individuals who completed their antibiotic therapy and are on treatment for leprosy complications involving their skin or nerves, and 15 are household contacts who shared an enclosed environment for a prolonged period of time with a person with untreated leprosy and have periodic screening.
Recently, an increased number of Floridians with no history of foreign travel to HD endemic areas or exposure to HD patients have been diagnosed with leprosy and make up the majority of the current active cases. The National HD Program has determined that a zoonosis due to infected armadillos in Florida is the probable cause of this increase in Florida born HD patients.
The UM/JMH HD clinic is held on Thursday afternoons at the Jackson Memorial Ambulatory Care Center East, 1611 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL 33136 in the second floor Dermatology Clinic. To make an appointment, contact the Nurse Coordinator, Liliana Zucki, A.P.R.N. at (305) 585-2511.
Note: All patients, on their initial visit, are referred to JMH Finance Credit and Classification specialists to determine the existence of, or eligibility for, private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. The UM/JMH leprosy program is used as the funding source of last resort for otherwise unfunded patients and for services/supplies not covered by insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Charges are based on Medicare reimbursement rates.