The National Parkinson Foundation Partners with the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society to Deliver Health Professional Course

MIAMI, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Pan American Section (MDS-PAS) announced today a collaborative partnership to offer a three-day course to teach team care and increase knowledge of Parkinson's disease (PD). The course, Allied Team Training for Parkinson's Disease (ATTP) will take place in San Diego, CA, from November 13-15, 2014.

Training diverse providers in an evidence-based team care model since the program's inception in 2003, NPF's ATTP has been delivered across the country to more than 1,600 health professionals who serve the Parkinson's community.  For many, the ATTP training has been the first exposure of health professionals treating Parkinson's to the expert movement disorders community. This partnership will allow even more practitioners from diverse disciplines to participate.

"Expert team care is well established as the gold standard for Parkinson's, but even if you see a neurologist, you might not have access to a physical therapist or other team members who are expert in Parkinson's," said Joyce Oberdorf, NPF's President and Chief Executive Officer. "ATTP teaches professionals not just how to be part of a team, but how to build their own teams to deliver interdisciplinary Parkinson's care."

ATTP is intended for nurses, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, doctors, physician's assistants, and nurse practitioners. The course is taught by an interdisciplinary faculty of MDS and NPF senior movement disorder specialists.

MDS President, Matthew Stern said, "This inaugural collaboration between MDS and NPF was developed to increase the knowledge of Parkinson's disease and improve upon comprehensive, multidisciplinary care in the treatment of patients. By working together to develop this program, we will continue to educate and advance the field through a collaborative approach."

The highly interactive training program features a combination of online courses and an intensive 3-day curriculum including: overview of PD, care strategies for all stages of PD, interdisciplinary training to foster stronger care teams, discipline-specific tools, and implementation plans to bring back to the workplace.

For ATTP registration rates, visit www.parkinson.org/attp.

About Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and four to six million worldwide, Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression) as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for PD and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

About the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
Founded in 1957, the National Parkinson Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson's disease through research, education, and outreach. NPF has funded more than $180 million in care, research and support services. NPF Centers of Excellence, at top medical institutes, includes 39 centers that deliver care to more than 50,000 Parkinson's patients. For more information, visit www.parkinson.org, or call the NPF Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) is a professional society of over 4,500 clinicians, scientists and other healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the care of patients with movement disorders through education and research. For more information, visit www.movementdisorders.org.

Media Contact:
Leilani Pearl
305-537-9907
[email protected]

SOURCE National Parkinson Foundation

Related Links

http://www.parkinson.org