PD & Movement Disorders Center to Participate in 2020 APDA Virtual Optimism Walk
The Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center will participate in the 34th Annual American Parkinson Disease Association Massachusetts Chapter Optimism Walk for Parkinson’s on Sunday, May 31, 2020. The walk was founded by staff of the BUMC APDA Information & Referral Center 34 years ago, and the event has since grown to be one of the largest APDA Walks in the country.
Nurses Cathi Thomas, MS, RN and Denyse Turpin, RN, MPH planned and executed the first Walk held in Brookline at Cleveland Circle in 1986. Since the first event, the APDA Massachusetts Chapter formed to help serve the entire state of Massachusetts, and the event has grown to be many times its original size, becoming a much-anticipated annual event.
This year’s Walk was to be held at Bowditch Field in Framingham, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic a Virtual Walk will take place on Sunday, May 31. Ms. Turpin, who is now retired from her position at BUMC, continues to play a very active role in the APDA MA Chapter and will participate in this year’s Virtual Walk.
According to Ms. Thomas, the Center Program Director, “Even though this year will be virtual, there is amazing support from the community at large.”
Funds raised at the Walk are used to deliver services across the state including exercise programs, choral groups, and a large network of support groups, as well as the APDA Information and Referral Center located at BUMC.
In addition to the APDA Information and Referral Center, the APDA supports a number of other important resources in Massachusetts. “APDA supports two Centers for Advanced Research in Massachusetts, at Boston University Medical Campus, directed by Marie Saint-Hilaire, MD, FRCPC; and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, directed by Clemens Scherzer, MD,” says Center Coordinator Rosemary Owen. “The APDA also supports the National Rehabilitation Helpline at BU’s Center of Neurorehabilitation directed by Terry Ellis, PhD, PT and coordinated by Tami Rork, DPT. It’s an incredible resource for patients, and we’re proud to have it here in the state of Massachusetts.”
To learn more, visit the APDA MA Optimism Walk website.