7/13/2009

Frazier Rehab Receives Training Grant to Treat Parkinson Patients

(LOUISVILLE, KY)… Frazier Rehab Institute has recently received a grant from the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana (PSCKY) to fund a continuing education course that will make a difference in the lives of Kentucky and southern Indiana residents who suffer with Parkinson’s disease (PD).  The $25,000 grant will provide training for occupational and Frazier and Southern Indiana Rehab Hospital (SIRH) physical therapists, who provide treatment to patients across Kentuckiana.  The training will be held July 18-19 at Frazier Rehab Institute, 220 Abraham Flexner Way.

A new innovative therapy called LSVT Big, a very specific exercise-based rehab approach, will soon be available at a number of Frazier Rehab and SIRH locations across Kentucky and southern Indiana. The goal of LSVT Big therapy is to improve PD patients’ balance, speed of movement and size of movement.
The program was developed from a 15-year success achieved with LSVT Loud, a speech therapy intervention for people with PD, named after Lee Silverman who also suffered from Parkinson’s.

The public is welcome to attend a lecture and demonstration therapy session on Sunday, July 19, from 12:30-2:30 at Frazier Rehab to learn more about LSVT.  The lecture will be on the 9th floor dining room during the first hour, then moving to 9th floor gym for 2nd hour.  Call 502-582-7475 for reservations.

 People with PD rarely seek rehab treatment until their disability has impaired their function, usually characterized by the loss of balance. The goal of LSVT Big is to teach patients a new way of moving in everyday life so that everyday movements provide continuous exercise.

“Frazier is committed to providing comprehensive services to people with Parkinson’s disease in Kentucky and the surrounding area,” said Martin Bonick, President/CEO, Jewish Hospital Medical Campus.  “The Parkinson Center of Excellence at Frazier Rehab will now have one more tool to help our PD patients. We thank PSCKY for their support”

"This innovative therapy holds an immense amount of potential for improved quality of life among Parkinson's patients," said Jinn Fuller Renfro, Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana Executive Director. "We are thrilled to help fund this important training and demonstration. Connecting the Parkinson's community to resources and assistance is what we're all about -- and having a movement-focused LSVT therapy program available to patients statewide is a powerful way of connecting folks with an empowering new treatment option."

“We greatly appreciate PSCKY’s generosity and partnership which enables our therapists to offer Parkinson’s disease patients LSVT Big therapy,” Kathy Panther, Director, Frazier Rehab Institute. “There are currently no therapists trained in Kentucky in this type of therapy. This will be a great complement to the LSVT Loud therapy that our speech-language pathologists are already providing which is an effective treatment for voice, speech, and swallowing.”

About Frazier Rehab Institute
Frazier Rehab Institute is a comprehensive rehabilitation system providing therapy in an acute care setting for inpatient and outpatient rehab needs.  Comprehensive rehab programs, highly skilled therapists, state-of-the-art-facilities and innovative therapeutic techniques have earned Frazier Rehab Institute national recognition.  Patients span the age range from infancy to geriatrics with a wide variety of diagnoses which include neurologic (spinal cord injury, brain injury and stroke), amputations, multiple trauma, orthopaedic, arthritis, cardiopulmonary, congenital, developmental, degenerative, and general medical cases. For more information about Frazier Rehab, visit frazierrehab.org.

About PSCKY
The Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana is the area’s largest organization dedicated to supporting Parkinson’s disease patients, their families, and caregivers.  We provide hope and assistance to people struggling with this devastating disease through support meetings, information, and funding for specific projects in meeting our goal of improving the quality of life for Parkinson’s disease patients.  For more information, please visit www.pscky.org.