PWP hosts an inside look at Northwell Health’s intense two-week inpatient rehab program, with interactive clinical sessions from the various programs.
[Pomona, NY, Apr 25, 2021] PWP gave viewers a look at a one-stop shop for jump-starting their PD rehab, getting a glimpse of one of the only intensive inpatient treatment centers in the country, located at Northwell Health in Glen Cove, NY. The two-week program, led by doctors Alessandro Di Rocco and Lyubov Rubin, brings together a whole array of specialists and rehab clinicians with the aim of promoting independence and quality of life.
As Dr. Di Rocco puts it, “Managing PD takes more than medicine or even surgery.” In addition to standard physical therapies, the Program incorporates Dance for PD, led by David Leventhal, to add a dimension of self-expression, improved balance, and social interaction, or as he describes it, “Engaging, enjoyable, creative, and fun. Access to the entire gamut of medical specialties, all under one roof while under expert observation, allows patients to receive treatment for conditions they may not have even acknowledged, such as issues with swallowing, hearing, or vision.
The webinar ran under the skilled moderation of neuropsychologist Dr. Elizabeth Kera, who also interviewed the rehab staff of speech, recreational, physical, and occupational therapists, along with an actual rehab resident. Dr. Rubin describes the experience of patients as, “Life changing.”
PWP’s webinar platform is a convenient portal for evaluating new doctors, treatments, and facilities. The next program, Learning to use your Whole Brain: Storytelling and The Impact of Positive Thinking, on Sunday, June 20, will explore the power of storytelling to organize, improve, and promote positive thinking, featuring Dr. Shahed, the new Medical Director of Neurology at Mt. Sinai West.
Music as Medicine, Part 2 wil feature “Music That Moves You: Taking You From Where You Are To the Place You Want to Be,” including a follow-up report on those of us who have taken up singing and dancing since last February’s presentation.
Join us also for the regular Tuesday Talk Series, PWP Pipeline to better health and understanding, highlighting new Doctors, Treatments, and Medications, in a small and informal online town hall meeting.
PWP Workout, the live online classes are a great way to maintain your exercise routine while promoting an uplifting team spirit. The Dance Movement, Boxing, Stretch, and Improv professionals will keep you moving, motivated, and amused.
PWP gratefully acknowledges the support of Abbott, Acadia, Acorda, and Kyowa Kirin.
Along with the Rehab Team:
Physical Therapist: Angela Russo
Occupational Therapist: Katie Schlosser
Speech Language Pathologist: Trina Fischetti
Recreational Therapist: Tanike Troya
Dr. Elizabeth Kera, Host
A Conversation Between Doctors
Northwell Glen Cove In-Patient Rehab
Dr. Alessandro DiRocco and Team, Physiatrist (rehabilitation physician), Neuropsychologist
The Clinicians at Northwell Glen Cove, including Physical therapists, Occupational therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Recreational Therapists, Registered Dietitians, Social Workers
David Leventhal, Dance for PD
My Experience at Glen Cove
Rehab Resident
Panel Discussion and Q&A
Alessandro Di Rocco, MD, serves as director of Northwell Health‘s Movement Disorders Program and Professor of Neurology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead, N.Y. He has served as Founding Director of New York University Langone Medical Center's Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders. He is on the Board of Directors of the Parkinson's Foundation and is a Past President of the Melvin Yahr International Parkinson's Foundation. Dr. Di Rocco is also on the organizing committee of the World Congress of the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders and on the Editorial Board of Neurodegenerative Disease Management.
Lyubov Rubin, MD is a Neurologist at Glen Cove Hospital, and Assistant Professor, Neurology, at the Zucker School of Medicine. She completed her MD at Bashkirsky Medical Institute, Russia, was Chief Resident in Neurology at North Shore University Hospital, and did her Fellowship in Neurorehabilitation at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY. She is affiliated with Glen Cove Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital, and Northwell Health Neuroscience Institute
Dr. Elizabeth Kera practices neuropsychology in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Institute of Hackensack University Medical Center. She is board-certified in Clinical Neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Dr. Kera obtained her BA in Psychology as an Honors Scholar at New York University in 2000. In 2006, she completed her PhD in neuropsychology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. She completed her internship in neuropsychology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Children’s Specialized Hospital of New Jersey. Dr. Kera has co-authored numerous publications and presented on a variety of topics in neuropsychology and is active in several neuropsychological organizations.
She specializes in the neuropsychological assessment of both pediatric and adult populations, focusing on conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, concussion, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and stroke. Combining her extensive expertise in neuropsychology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, Dr. Kera partners with patients, their families, and other healthcare professionals to provide a comprehensive assessment of cognitive functioning, and to develop appropriate treatment and rehabilitation recommendations.
David Leventhal, Program Director and founding teacher, Dance for PD, leads classes for people with Parkinson’s disease around the world and trains other teachers in the Dance for PD® approach.
The program’s fundamental working principle is that professionally-trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge about balance, sequencing, rhythm and aesthetic awareness is useful to persons with PD. Dancers know all about stretching and strengthening muscles, and about balance and rhythm. Dancers know about the power of dance to concentrate mind, body and emotion on movement because they use their thoughts, imagination, eyes, ears and touch to control their bodies every day.
“There’s one hypothesis that Parkinson’s primarily affects the part of the brain responsible for automatic movement,” says Leventhal. “If you can introduce tasks or activities that are based on a thoughtful, conscious approach, you may be creating alternative pathways to movement that don’t rely on automatic pattern recall.”
Musical cues and imagery also create a road map — where internal rhythms may be missing, a beat provides support — and, importantly, Leventhal adds, a sense of fun and engagement.
“When people are living with Parkinson’s, a lot of their lives are medicalized to a degree. They’re confined by a pill schedule, going to doctors and therapists,” Leventhal says. “There’s really great benefit to having an hour a week when they’re treated as dancers, creative individuals and members of a community. It can open up myriad learning possibilities.”
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