Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month – June 2025
- Posted by Greg Wahlstrom, MBA, HCM
- Posted in Health Observance Calendar
Hospital Leadership and Rare Disease Strategy
Published: June 16, 2025
Each June, Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month brings visibility to a rare neuromuscular disease that requires urgent attention from healthcare leaders. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) interferes with the connection between nerves and muscles, leading to significant weakness that worsens with activity and improves with rest. Symptoms such as drooping eyelids, double vision, and difficulty breathing or swallowing often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, particularly in settings without adequate neurology support. For hospitals to provide equitable care, MG protocols must be embedded within emergency, inpatient, and outpatient workflows. Strategic observance of this month means more than awareness—it calls for action across clinical, operational, and leadership dimensions. Hospital systems that integrate MG training into triage and acute response models demonstrate preparedness for sudden-onset conditions that demand fast escalation. Institutions like Banner University Medical Center and Lee Health have begun building interdisciplinary neurology task forces to fast-track rare disease consults. Executive boards must also consider the financial and ethical implications of overlooking rare disease infrastructure. Patients experiencing MG symptoms often encounter long delays before diagnosis, especially in rural and underserved populations. Health equity starts with ensuring even the rarest patient has a clear clinical path. Awareness months like this one create critical momentum for closing those gaps across systems of care.
From a systems operations perspective, Myasthenia Gravis challenges healthcare organizations to be responsive to conditions that are infrequent but medically complex. Unlike chronic diseases with well-established care pathways, MG may present unpredictably and escalate quickly, requiring fast intervention to prevent respiratory failure or aspiration. Hospitals must assess their emergency department readiness to recognize and respond to MG crises and ensure that ICU and neurology teams have access to appropriate therapies and diagnostics. Protocols for administering IVIG, plasmapheresis, and corticosteroids must be standardized and available 24/7 for admitted patients. At Valley Health, rare disease medications are included in critical formulary reviews conducted quarterly by pharmacy leadership. This model reduces treatment delays and supports value-based procurement. In addition to acute care readiness, long-term management of MG demands coordinated follow-up to avoid hospital readmissions. Post-discharge monitoring, telehealth consults, and community partnerships must be part of the executive strategy. Staffing models should also be evaluated to ensure availability of neurologists, respiratory therapists, and case managers familiar with rare neuromuscular disorders. Operational resilience hinges on how well teams are cross-trained and clinically aligned. With the prevalence of MG expected to rise as diagnostic tools improve, hospital leaders should anticipate future demand and plan accordingly.
Myasthenia Gravis has far-reaching implications for hospital strategy, especially as healthcare organizations look to align mission, margin, and clinical performance. Because MG affects both young adults and older populations, health systems need to be proactive in offering age-appropriate, interdisciplinary care that addresses the unique risks for each demographic. At Westchester Health Network, care pathways are now stratified by age to optimize medication response and fall prevention strategies in geriatric MG patients. Younger adults benefit from embedded behavioral health screening and support for vocational reintegration. Administrative leaders must also track indirect costs of care such as missed appointments, medication nonadherence, and ER overuse due to delayed specialist access. Financial performance tied to quality and outcomes will depend on how well MG patients are supported throughout the continuum of care. Institutions like University of Connecticut Health are piloting data registries to monitor rare disease outcomes and streamline reporting to national agencies. Integrating MG into quality dashboards allows executives to monitor impact over time and benchmark against other facilities. Every step taken toward MG readiness can inform broader improvements in rare disease governance. By tracking outcomes, executive teams can quantify return on investment and build the case for sustainable infrastructure.
Hospitals also play a public leadership role during awareness months by extending their reach beyond the clinic walls. June offers an opportunity to host community webinars, patient panel discussions, and continuing education sessions for providers. Partnering with groups like the National Organization for Rare Disorders or the NIH Genetic and Rare Diseases Center creates space for civic engagement and collaborative learning. Institutions such as Yale Health Plan have used awareness observances to launch internal policy reviews that align with external advocacy benchmarks. Executives can designate June as a month for MG policy audits, staff retraining, and infrastructure evaluation. Doing so affirms the organization’s commitment to rare disease patients not just during a crisis, but as part of continuous quality improvement. Public campaigns that feature MG survivors and caregivers also help humanize clinical decision-making and bring attention to the real-life struggles of navigating fragmented systems. In an era of growing medical mistrust, transparent engagement and storytelling are strategic assets. Hospitals that honor this month visibly and thoughtfully are sending a clear message to patients and staff: rare doesn’t mean forgotten.
As Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month continues through June 2025, hospital executives should evaluate their system’s performance with honest reflection and clear benchmarks. Were policies updated? Were clinicians trained? Were patients heard? These are the measures that define strategic follow-through. In an increasingly data-driven and value-conscious environment, rare diseases like MG provide an opportunity to lead differently—by showing that even low-volume cases deserve high-priority attention. The month is not about checking a box; it is about operationalizing empathy into measurable care delivery standards. Executive teams should identify three to five actionable goals related to MG awareness, such as expanding formulary access, reducing diagnosis timeframes, or establishing outpatient referral pathways. Doing so helps institutionalize progress and set a culture of proactive leadership. The observance should catalyze tangible steps toward building an equitable, agile, and patient-centered system. June will come and go, but its lessons should endure in every policy revised, every staff member trained, and every life improved. Myasthenia Gravis may be rare, but how hospitals respond should be nothing short of exceptional.
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