An interview with Mindy Lokshin, MD, MSPH from the Parkinson Support Center of Northern Nevada on August 31, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Please tell me a little about your background.
I am a retired family physician with multiple family members with Parkinson’s. I am passionate about public health, community, and wellness issues.
Can you tell me more about your organization?
The Parkinson Support Center of Northern Nevada was founded in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, by a Board of caring people either with PD or with loved ones with the disease. We started as a website of local, regional and national resources for people in with Parkinson’s to access for information. We now offer PD Community Groups, a Mentor Program, resource fairs, and educational programs for PwP, care partners, healthcare providers and the community at large.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
I have always been passionate about healthcare and access to health information. Parkinson’s is my focus now both because of so many family members and friends with the disease, as well as the absence of any other support in our community.
What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when working with you?
People with Parkinson’s come to our organization asking for advice on local resources as well as looking for personal support systems. Care partners come to us for support, resources and other help. Healthcare organizations come to us for in-service training. And community groups come to us looking for more information about Parkinson’s disease as they are finding it affecting more and more of the community.
What type of training and how long are the programs?
We offer everything from a 10 minute intro to PD, to a 2 hour workshop for physicians (which includes PT, Speech and a movement disorder specialist). We hope to start a “Parkinson’s 101” 4-week program in the summer of 2024.
What effect can it have on an individual with Parkinson’s?
Our goal is to educate and engage PwP so that they can have some control over their disease. We also hope that by educating the general public, there is less of a stigma and more understanding of PwP.
What would you like to see as a future goal for your programs?
We would love to have the funds and resources to have full time staff who can manage our programs, expand to Spanish language programs, and even offer our own exercise classes.
What events do you participate in?
We have several events throughout the year. In addition, personally I have been working hard on national and statewide advocacy, working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
How does this also assist the caregivers?
Yes! We believe that by helping the PwP, that helps the care partner. We are also offering a care partner specific workshop this November. For the paid caregivers (not partners/family/friends), we offer educational programming.
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
We can be reached via: email at admin@pscnn.org; by leaving a message on our message phone 775-525-0205; or going to our website at www.pscnn.org
How can others also become advocates for awareness?
We are always happy to have new volunteers join our effort!
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?
We believe our mission statement really captures our goals: PSCNN exists so no one has to face Parkinson’s alone.
We provide support for those affected by Parkinson’s, opportunities for our Parkinson community to engage and connect, and information to the public to raise awareness of the disease.
Reference
Photo credit
The Parkinson Support Center (2023). About us. Retrieved from https://www.pscnn.org/about-us