Neuro Challenge Comprehensive Care for PD

Neuro Challenge Foundation and its community partners provide Comprehensive Care for Parkinson Disease in Sarasota, Florida. Through public and private grants and individual donations, the Foundation is able to create customized care plans for patients, link patients and caregivers to state of the art medical treatments, therapies, physicians and varied educational activities, materials and support programs.

We provide people with Parkinson Disease, Movement Disorders and their caregivers with much needed intensive outreach that is critical to improving their quality of life through Parkinson Partners.

Neuro Challenge Foundation, Inc. (NCF) employs experienced staff and volunteers who interview Parkinson patients and caregivers and then make recommendations about how resources in the local community can combine with traditional medical treatments provided by their doctors to improve their quality of life. Physicians begin the process by diagnosing the patient and then enrolling the patient and caregiver in NCF’s Parkinson Partners program. A healthcare professional, who is either staff or volunteer (the NCF Advisor) then matches the patient’s and caregiver’s needs to those in the NCF Resource Database using specially designed software and a powerful resource network developed through a 25-year cumulative effort among local health professionals.

NCF provides each client, upon request, a personalized care plan or “roadmap” that can include recommendations from the patient’s multi-disciplinary team. In many instances, the physician may recommend physical, occupational and speech therapies, exercise and/or attendance at group education classes, seminars and symposia, Integrative Medicine, and other free, discounted or fee-only services available in the community. NCF Advisors spend one-on-one time with each client and caregiver helping them to understand how the various facets of their care plan, as recommended by their physician, can help to improve their quality of life. Volunteers also follow up with patients to provide one-on-one support by phone and clients can visit the NCF Parkinson Partners Center to speak with an Advisor by appointment.

As patients and caregivers develop a relationship with their NCF Advisor, they will have an opportunity to continue to learn about a broad array of Integrative Medical Therapies like music, dance, swimming, Tai Chi, acupuncture, or music and art therapies. Even transportation, home companions, home remodeling, exercise, marriage and legal counseling can be part of the mix, depending on the client’s needs and desires and the physician’s recommendations.

NCF Advisors have access to information about home care services, home companions, home assessments, respite care, in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation services, diet, alternative living facilities, end of life services and counseling, support groups, durable medical equipment, specialized clothing options and eating utensils, medication assistance, and other opportunities for well-being as they become available in the community.

NCF Advisors may provide contact phone numbers and maps, medication tracking cards, PD ID cards and personalized calendars as part of a client’s care plan to remind them about their healthy routines. Each resource that is introduced into a patient’s care plan or “road map” is designed to enhance the health and quality of life of patients and their caregivers. An Advisor who can make appointments for various activities while the client is in the office explains each care plan component.

An important step in achieving high quality community healthcare for Parkinson patients is the training of qualified healthcare and service professionals within our community. NCF provides PD-specific education for local health professionals in order to improve and maintain high quality resources within our community. We generally seek community collaborations to provide the most up to date training experiences for healthcare professionals so that Parkinson patients receive the specialized care they need.

No other organization in our area has the experience in either resource evaluation or the demonstrated ability to join physicians, community resources, hospitals, patients and caregivers together in a unified effort to ease the burden of living with Parkinson Disease using one-on-one education at all stages of the disease.

There are numerous organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit working in our region and nationwide to combat Parkinson Disease. However, we are not aware of any group that regularly funds or offers the level of detail that we do when educating people with Parkinson’s or other movement disorders. Neuro Challenge is currently the only local charitable organization in Florida providing one-on-one guidance services in addition to group education and research support for Parkinson Disease and movement disorders.

There are 15,000 people living with Parkinson disease, including caregivers, in the NCF local service area. It is time intensive and many barriers to entry exist within the medical community. We overcome these barriers through community collaboration, cost sharing, fundraising and attention to privacy issues. Our Parkinson Partners program is a win-win for everyone. Doctors are happy with the extra attention their patients receive. Caregivers revel in the assistance they discover from resources in the community, unused capacity among resources is better addressed and most importantly — patients and caregivers enjoy improved health and emotional status whenever possible.

All NCF-directed services are currently provided free of charge to our clients. The Foundation provided care planning for 200 Parkinson patients and caregivers in 2009. Demand for the program is steadily increasing along with public awareness. Plans for expansion will enable NCF to offer human services through Parkinson Partners to all people living with Parkinson Disease in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in 2010-2011.

Fifty volunteers take active roles in the program including many local healthcare professionals.

We envision supporting the development of NCF’s one-on-one education and community collaborative concept in other towns and cities over time. There are at least one million people in the United States who have Parkinson Disease. This number is expected to double by 2030.

Get your “Road Map”

Customized care options may include some of the following. A physician consultation is required to ensure that each patient receives the proper care and attention they need. Call NCF at (941) 926-6413 to get your game plan. You must be under the care of a physician to participate.

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Physical Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Speech Therapy
• Massage
• Acupuncture
• Home Health & ADLs
• Social Work
• Mental Health Counseling
• Transportation
• Assisted Living
• Skilled Nursing
• Housekeeping
• Groceries
• Mind/Body Wellness
• Meditation
• Meals on Wheels
• Golf Therapy
• Driving Rehabilitation
• Aqua Therapy
• Personal Assistance
• Medical Concierge Services
• Legal Counsel