Get inspired by listening to a Conversation Between Doctors discussing, “PD: Past Present Future”
Discover a creativity and movement program to help people with Parkinson’s improve their handwriting
Improve your quality of life through products that are scientifically designed to be held by hands and preserve hand strength.
Get a research update from The Michael J. Fox Foundation
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Getting a Grip on PD
[Pomona, NY, Mar 7, 2021] Sunday’s PWP Webinar took a multi-faceted approach to another challenge of managing parkinsons: diminished handwriting and hand coordination, along with its accompanying toll on self-esteem and confidence.
Viewers were shown how specialized training from Creative Neurology has developed a series of workshops allowing participants to relearn simple fine muscle movements, while Jamber, maker of handware products scientifically designed to be held by hands and preserve hand strength, offered a new and improved take on the conventional coffee mug. Along with live music from The Healing Project, we were inspired to learn how even the fine motor skills of playing music can be relearned.
Rounding out the program was a research update from The Michael J. Fox Foundation mission to speed a cure, and neurologists Michael Rezak and Alex DiRocco in a Converstion Between Doctors, focusing on the evolution of treatment strategies beyond conventional medicine, not the least of which is the widespread sharing of information and empathy available through platforms such as this webinar. Neuropsychologist Michael Mercury acting as moderator kept the presentation lively and upbeat. As one attendee commented, “‘Fear will be your first mistake’ …. This is good for all of us to remember….thank you so much,!! fantastic webinar..!”
PWP strives to continue bringing informative and encouraging events in an entertaining forum of the ever-expanding scope of medicine and coping strategies. As a channel between doctors, patients, care partners, and healthcare companies, Parkinsons Wellness Project is committed to exploring new avenues of treatment and health management that leverage the power of technology and communication.
Join us for the regular Tuesday Talk Series, PWP Pipline to better health and understanding, highlighting new Doctors, Treatments, and Medications, in a small informal town hall meeting.
The next series of webinars, beginning Sunday, April 25, will offer a way to get the upper hand on parkinsons, as PWP will host an inside look at Northwell Health’s intense two-week inpatient rehab program, with interactive clinical sessions from the various programs. Sunday, June 20, will feature The Search For Meaning…Our Brain Connections Through Stories, as we explore the power of storytelling to organize and improve thinking, along with insights from speech and movement therapy. Finally, Sunday, July 25, will bring Music As Medicine, Part 2: 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.
PWP Workout, the live online classes, soon to be supplemented by PWP Cares, mental health support groups, are a great way to maintain your wellness 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 Abbvie, Acadia, Acorda, Adamas, Amneal, Kyowa Kirin, Medtronic, Sunovion, and Supernus.
Michael Rezak, MD, PhD, Director of the Movement Disorders Program at Health Quest, received his medical degree from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, having already earned a master’s in psychology and a doctorate in brain anatomy from the University of Illinois Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship in visual system neurophysiology at the University of Illinois Medical Center.
A physician, researcher and teacher, Dr. Rezak was a Distinguished Physician Endowed Chair of the Parkinson’s Disease Research Society, Northwestern Medicine West Region, before joining Health Quest. He served for many years as Section Chief of Neurosciences at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois. He has also held assistant professorships in neurology at Northwestern University and Yale University.
Dr. Rezak’s broad research interests include medical and surgical treatments for Parkinson’s disease, symptom management and quality of life for Parkinson’s patients, deep brain stimulation applications and techniques, and bioethics.
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.
Michael Mercury PhD is a clinical neuropsychologist with Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group and Director of Psychology. He is the former Douglas L Johnson Endowed Chair in Neurosciences. Dr. Mercury specializes in memory and the cognitive aspects of movement disorders and dementias. Dr. Mercury received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He completed his internship at the University of Chicago and a Northwestern University affiliated fellowship in neuropsychology at Evanston Hospital. Dr. Mercury holds the academic position of Health System Clinician at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and previously held an academic appointment at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
Fayga Brisman joined The Michael J. Fox Foundation in March of 2019. As Associate Director, Advancement, Fayga develops and implements strategies to engage the broader community in a mission to speed a cure, helping ensure that the Foundation raises sufficient dollars to fund its ambitious research agenda.
Fayga graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a Bachelors in Education. She earned a Masters in Library and Information Sciences from Pratt Institute and a certificate in Philanthropy from Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Prior to joining MJFF, she worked at Amud Aish Memorial Museum and Yeshiva University where she was responsible for fundraising and event planning.
Fayga is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Saba Shahid, Creative Neurology, a creativity and movement program for people with Parkinson’s disease, has developed a series of workshops allowing participants to relearn simple fine muscle movements by holding and manipulating a paintbrush.
Saba has a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in biomedical science from Quinnipiac University. She currently serves on the board of DopaFit Parkinson’s Movement Center and The American Parkinsons Disease Association Massachusetts chapter. She has created strategic partnerships with hospitals and pharmaceutical companies nationally that all join Saba in her mission to spread smiles through creativity and movement. Saba was recently inducted into BussinessWest’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2020.
Allen Arseneau, Co-founder & CEO, Jamber, maker of handware products scientifically designed to be held by hands and preserve hand strength. Originally from Boston, he has a degree in bio-chemical engineering and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Allen has worked as a process engineer in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.
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