Friedberg JCC to host Parkinson’s Wellness Fair

The Friedberg JCC in Oceanside is gearing up to host its first Parkinson’s Wellness Fair on April 16, helping to provide a beacon of light for individuals and families navigating the complexities of the disease.

The fair, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will provide patients dealing with Parkinson’s disease, as well as caregivers and healthcare professionals, with a comprehensive lineup of interactive workshops and networking opportunities.

Organized by Gloria Lebeaux, JCC’s director of social work services, the event will feature a panel of esteemed speakers, including neurologists, movement disorder specialists and speech-language pathologists, who will give insights into the latest advancements in Parkinson’s research, treatment options and strategies for enhancing quality of life.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system, causing problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain, and other health issues. Parkinson’s usually occurs in older people, with the risk increasing with age, and people usually develop the disease around age 60 or older.

Among the featured speakers will be Dr. Fiona Gupta, a neurologist and movement disorders specialist who has been dedicated to improving the lives of Parkinson’s patients. With more than 16 years of experience in neurology and a specialization in Parkinson’s disease, Gupta’s work revolves around multidisciplinary care aimed at helping patients live well with movement disorders. In addition to a practice in New York City, she opened an office in Oceanside in January, through New York Neurology Associates, to serve patients in the Long Island area.

“It has been a wonderful opportunity to see my Oceanside office and all of the Long Island presence grow,” she said. “I’m a big believer in that patients shouldn’t have to travel far to get a high-quality, good level (of care).”

Gupta said she believes in providing personalized, holistic care, and expressed hope that those who attend the wellness fair will benefit greatly.

“I hope they can come away with a deeper understanding as to living well with Parkinson’s disease,” she said, “come away with an understanding of the non-pharmacologic paradigms, including exercise, diet, dietary measures, the role of neurorestoration, and then gain an understanding of the updated therapies that we have in Parkinson’s, and also the future in terms of pipeline therapies that hopefully will come to fruition.”

Woodmere resident Zoë Thijs, an assistant professor at Molloy University who is an advocate for enhancing communication and quality of life for those living with Parkinson’s, said she hopes to bring a unique perspective to the table as a speaker at the fair. With a background in speech-language pathology, Thijs has dedicated her research to understanding the intricacies of voice and speech in patients with Parkinson’s, and emphasized the profound impact that effective communication can have on their psychosocial wellbeing.

“I think a lot of people might not really know how far the effects of not being able to speak well or have a good voice can reach in people with Parkinson’s disease,” Thijs said. “That is something that I’m interested in and would like to focus on for this presentation, as well as emphasize that it’s so much more than just your voice or your speech that changes. People start isolating themselves. They start changing our communication at times, and when you’re an older adult, you probably want to enjoy life as much as you can and at that point, communication can make that very difficult. Those communicative changes and how you can recognize them is one of the things that I would want to speak about, and then also how we can treat them.”

Thijs offered insights into treatment options, such as LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) LOUD and speak-out programs. LSVT LOUD is an effective speech treatment for people with Parkinson’s, recalibrating the perception of loudness that people with Parkinson’s have of their voice and prompting them to speak at a more normal volume.

Point Lookout resident Rosemary Gallagher, an associate professor in the physical therapy program at the New York Institute of Technology, has connected with Lebeaux during previous health fairs and seminars and has extensive experience in physical The Friedberg JCC in Oceanside is gearing up to host its first Parkinson’s Wellness Fair on April 16, helping to provide a beacon of light for individuals and families navigating the complexities of the disease.

The fair, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will provide patients dealing with Parkinson’s disease, as well as caregivers and healthcare professionals, with a comprehensive lineup of interactive workshops and networking opportunities.

Organized by Gloria Lebeaux, JCC’s director of social work services, the event will feature a panel of esteemed speakers, including neurologists, movement disorder specialists and speech-language pathologists, who will give insights into the latest advancements in Parkinson’s research, treatment options and strategies for enhancing quality of life.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system, causing problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain, and other health issues. Parkinson’s usually occurs in older people, with the risk increasing with age, and people usually develop the disease around age 60 or older.

Among the featured speakers will be Dr. Fiona Gupta, a neurologist and movement disorders specialist who has been dedicated to improving the lives of Parkinson’s patients. With more than 16 years of experience in neurology and a specialization in Parkinson’s disease, Gupta’s work revolves around multidisciplinary care aimed at helping patients live well with movement disorders. In addition to a practice in New York City, she opened an office in Oceanside in January, through New York Neurology Associates, to serve patients in the Long Island area.

“It has been a wonderful opportunity to see my Oceanside office and all of the Long Island presence grow,” she said. “I’m a big believer in that patients shouldn’t have to travel far to get a high-quality, good level (of care).”

Gupta said she believes in providing personalized, holistic care, and expressed hope that those who attend the wellness fair will benefit greatly.

“I hope they can come away with a deeper understanding as to living well with Parkinson’s disease,” she said, “come away with an understanding of the non-pharmacologic paradigms, including exercise, diet, dietary measures, the role of neurorestoration, and then gain an understanding of the updated therapies that we have in Parkinson’s, and also the future in terms of pipeline therapies that hopefully will come to fruition.”

Woodmere resident Zoë Thijs, an assistant professor at Molloy University who is an advocate for enhancing communication and quality of life for those living with Parkinson’s, said she hopes to bring a unique perspective to the table as a speaker at the fair. With a background in speech-language pathology, Thijs has dedicated her research to understanding the intricacies of voice and speech in patients with Parkinson’s, and emphasized the profound impact that effective communication can have on their psychosocial wellbeing.

“I think a lot of people might not really know how far the effects of not being able to speak well or have a good voice can reach in people with Parkinson’s disease,” Thijs said. “That is something that I’m interested in and would like to focus on for this presentation, as well as emphasize that it’s so much more than just your voice or your speech that changes. People start isolating themselves. They start changing our communication at times, and when you’re an older adult, you probably want to enjoy life as much as you can and at that point, communication can make that very difficult. Those communicative changes and how you can recognize them is one of the things that I would want to speak about, and then also how we can treat them.”

Thijs offered insights into treatment options, such as LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) LOUD and speak-out programs. LSVT LOUD is an effective speech treatment for people with Parkinson’s, recalibrating the perception of loudness that people with Parkinson’s have of their voice and prompting them to speak at a more normal volume.

Point Lookout resident Rosemary Gallagher, an associate professor in the physical therapy program at the New York Institute of Technology, has connected with Lebeaux during previous health fairs and seminars and has extensive experience in physical therapy and community outreach. Gallagher plans to focus on the benefits of walking for individuals with Parkinson’s and cover scientific and recreational aspects of walking, along with strategies to motivate individuals to engage in regular physical activity.

“It’s important that people with Parkinson’s disease and any disease process, of course, are educated about what’s going on, and it’s important to get education from bona fide sources,” Gallagher said. “You want to get the information from either research articles or from the Parkinson’s disease foundation or these wellness fairs. We have the latest information and the latest research on Parkinson’s and what’s true and what’s not true. It can be very scary to go onto the Internet and just start searching for Parkinson’s disease.

“I think having this wellness fair is bringing people together socially, which is so important,” Gallagher added. “So not only are they using me and Dr. Gupta and the speech therapist (Thijs) as resources to talk to and to learn from, but also learning from each other.”

In addition to the wellness fair, the JCC will host a 5K run/walk for Parkinson’s on Sunday, May 19, at 9 a.m. at Baldwin Park. For more information, call the JCC office at (516) 766-4341 or contact Lebeaux, at glebeaux@friedbergjcc.org.

and community outreach. Gallagher plans to focus on the benefits of walking for individuals with Parkinson’s and cover scientific and recreational aspects of walking, along with strategies to motivate individuals to engage in regular physical activity.

“It’s important that people with Parkinson’s disease and any disease process, of course, are educated about what’s going on, and it’s important to get education from bona fide sources,” Gallagher said. “You want to get the information from either research articles or from the Parkinson’s disease foundation or these wellness fairs. We have the latest information and the latest research on Parkinson’s and what’s true and what’s not true. It can be very scary to go onto the Internet and just start searching for Parkinson’s disease.

“I think having this wellness fair is bringing people together socially, which is so important,” Gallagher added. “So not only are they using me and Dr. Gupta and the speech therapist (Thijs) as resources to talk to and to learn from, but also learning from each other.”

In addition to the wellness fair, the JCC will host a 5K run/walk for Parkinson’s on Sunday, May 19, at 9 a.m. at Baldwin Park. For more information, call the JCC office at (516) 766-4341 or contact Lebeaux, at glebeaux@friedbergjcc.org.