2020: Living Better with Parkinson's
Parkinson’s has a significant presence in South Georgian Bay communities. The disease will have a much more prevalent presence in these rapidly growing communities. The projected aging demographics will also significantly accelerate the presence of this disease. The existing local Parkinson’s Support Group and the “Living Better with Parkinson’s” program teams are convinced that South Georgian Bay can and should become a Centre of Excellence for the early diagnosis and non-invasive fitness and lifestyle-based treatment of the disease. In 2019, team members at The Centre, as well as other volunteers from the South Georgian Bay area came together to form ‘Living Better with Parkinson’s’. Living Better is a community-based collective of volunteers, which includes people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers, family members and community volunteers.
Persons with Parkinson’s (diagnosed and yet to be diagnosed), caregivers, community members and organizations, primary and acute care service providers over time, will learn and adopt sustainable approaches to build wellness and healthcare delivery for Parkinson’s in South Georgian Bay.
“Living Better with Parkinson's” is a unique community-based initiative supported by key stakeholders involved in or concerned about the early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s. The Awareness/Networking component of “Living Better…” will ensure timely and relevant knowledge transfer to care givers, person with Parkinson’s and their family to help improve quality of life for those who are affected.
Program Goals:
- Program development, implementation, and delivery
- Education
- Advocacy
Objectives:
Programs: To develop and deliver to people with Parkinson’s innovative, non-invasive treatment initiatives, based on proven science-based lifestyle and fitness programs.
Support: To develop and deliver mentoring capabilities and educational linkages to assist people with Parkinson’s and their families understand and navigate through their journey with PD.
Education: To intervene and to foster the development of knowledge and capabilities within the medical/caregiving communities within south Georgian Bay to identify an early and accurate diagnosis of PD.
Program Goals: The ‘Move Well Fitness’, dance, yoga, and mindfulness meditation program’s primary goals are to enable participants to move better by practicing simple and effective fundamental and functional movements that stimulate major muscle groups and mimic common movements of daily living at home, at work, or in sports enabling a person to live better with Parkinson’s disease.
LBWP is partnering with seasoned, local instructors who offer a variety of both in person and online programs for people living with Parkinson’s Disease in south Georgian Bay. The primary intent of these programs is to maintain or increase a person’s level of independence and confidence. Participants will be encouraged to complete short program evaluation after participating in one or more programs.