Newly opened Parkinson’s Center offers hope in Ridgefield

Parkinson’s disease can be devastating both for the diagnosed and their loved ones, but the newly launched Parkinson”™s Center at RVNAHealth is offering a suite of services and classes that can make managing the symptoms and handling the associated challenges easier for afflicted residents in the 35 towns that the organization serves.

The new endeavor is based in facilities constructed as part of the RVNA’s Center of Excellence Care in downtown Ridgefield.

“We are building this center for you,” said Director of Rehabilitation Services Gigi Weiss at an opening ceremony for the center on April 20. “As therapists and clinicians, we hear all the time from people that are diagnosed with Parkinson’s that they come and see us for therapy and we treat them, but then they have no other resources. So, we, as a team, came together and said, “we want to provide you with that resource.”

Attendees at the event which included patients, their families and community members were given an overview of the center’s offerings and introduced to the specialists who will provide services ranging from nutritional advice and speech therapy to spiritual guidance and driving assessments.

“We want to support you,” said Kate Campbell, the practice manager of the Rehabilitation Wellness Center and the manager of the Parkinson’s Center. “We want to teach you, because education is power. With that you can do so much for yourself. But we also need different kinds of support, social engagement. You have to have somewhere to go, you have to wake up every day and say, “I want to live my life and I want to have fun.” And we want to provide that for you. We can fulfill your physical needs, which change with Parkinson’s and also your emotional and educational needs.”

In addition to the ongoing services, the center will offer a PD Bootcamp consisting of high intensity education and assessments instead of exercise, though physical therapy will also be a component. The idea is to work with a small number of patients at a time and help prepare them to handle Parkinson’s and develop a course of action.

The physical therapy will non-exclusively center on LSVT BIG, a customizable approach to practicing everyday movements in such a way that they can be performed even as Parkinson’s progresses. Developed from Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD, the BIG version uses exaggerated motions in a manner, which can overcome the way that the disease reduces the ability of the body to interpret signals. Patients are encouraged to speak at a louder level than they thought necessary to help overcome a tendency for their voices to grow increasingly quiet.

M.J. Heller, director of philanthropy at RVNAHealth, also addressed attendees, indicating that while Medicaid will cover much of the costs of the program for those who participate, every effort will be made to keep certain “wellness” activities such as certain movement classes to an affordable out of pocket cost around $30 to $35.

“This is a wonderful center and I can”™t stress enough what a unicorn this Parkinson’s Center is,” Heller said. “There is nowhere in our greater area where you will find such a comprehensive nature of services as here that not only tend to the person with Parkinson”™s physical needs, but also thinks about their mental health, their spiritual care, and their caregiver”™s needs.”

After introductions to the Parkinson’s Center staff, attendees were given a tour of the facility, which includes modern gym spaces, the latest tools for physical therapy, and “Pat’s Path” the latter feature recreates a sidewalk which runs through part of the building, complete with artificial grass and a hand painted mural celebrating the life of Patricia Martinsen, one of the first patients at the RVNAhealth Rehabilitation & Wellness Center.