Parkinson’s Partners Begins New Fall Session
The third year of Parkinson’s Partners at Boston University School of Medicine begins next Saturday September 28th. The program, which is supported in part by the APDA Advanced Center, began in 2017 with Movement Disorder faculty and 5 first year medical students as a way to teach students first hand about Parkinson’s disease while providing a fun and educational program for patients who participate. The program meets monthly throughout the medical school year and pairs first and second year students with Parkinson’s disease patients at all stages of the disease. Each meeting consists of an activity meant for the partners to learn a little bit about themselves and serve as an introduction to complimentary therapies that have been shown to help Parkinson’s disease symptoms such as boxing, thai chi, dancing, art, or rehabilitation therapy. This year, the group plans to explore safe eating through the help of a licensed speech therapist, perform an exercise or boxing routine to help keep patients and students active, and work with the Art Cart to learn how art can promote healing. Stephanie Bissonnette, DO, MPH, and Katelyn Bird, MD work with this group to provide programming. For those who may be interested in participating in the future, the student leaders can be reached at parkinsonspartners@gmail.com.