Moving Forward

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5/20/2010

Chronic Disease Self-Management Program

Post written by Serena Hung, MD

A recent edition of AARP The Magazine has an article on the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program developed at Stanford after a three-year long research study that showed a decrease in doctor visits and improved communication with physicians and an overall sense of empowerment for patients.

This program was launched at Stanford in 1992 and was adopted nationally by Kaiser Permanente in 1998. Nationally, 5,000 workshop leaders have been trained. Here in Wisconsin the program is called Living Well With Chronic Conditions. It is offered all over the state at locations that can be found at the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources Web site.

Workshop Video

View a video that shows details of the Living Well With Ongoing Health Conditions Workshops.

Though this is the Greater Wisconsin Area Aging Resources Web site, remember, you don’t have to be old to benefit from these classes.

Here’s several reasons that I think this program is right for my patients:

We treat people with chronic illnesses — sometimes one patient may have several.
These patients can have lots of issues around fear, depression, fatigue, stress & anxiety and pain. Living Well addresses all of this in an empowerment model. The patient creates his/her own unique “Action Plan.”
This program is designed to mix people with a variety of chronic illnesses together with the thinking that many share the same issues and sometimes it’s good to realize that other people have challenges, too. The action plans are individual, anyway, so it’s not so important to be only with other people with Parkinson’s.
Finally, our program coordinator, Vicki Conte has now been trained as a leader along with two Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin program coordinators, Donna Johnson and Michelle Messling and three volunteers, Kate Olszewski, Lynn Ihlenfeld and Carol Ryback (thank you, ladies!).

So, we launched our first Living Well workshop on May 18 for our own patients! I had several patients attending this inaugural class. There will be a series of six-week sessions offered this year. For more information, see our flyer. To sign up for the classes, please call 800-272-3666:

Mondays, July 12 – Aug. 16; 8:30 – 11:00 am
Mondays, Sept. 13 – Oct. 18; 8:30 – 11:00 am
Mondays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 29; 8:30 – 11:00 am
Mondays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 29; 8:30 – 11:00 am
Mondays, Nov. 1 – Dec. 6; 1:30 – 4:00 pm
Wednesdays, Nov. 3 - Dec. 8; 6:00 - 8:30 pm

Next time you are in clinic, ask your neurologist if this is something you should attend. My answer will always be “YES!”

If this all sounds as promising to you as it does to me, and you want to better understand how this evidence program began and what the research shows, check out the Stanford Web site, or view the video reproduced with permission from copyrighted material of The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., Northern California.

Posted 12:09 PM

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Blog post by Dr. Karen Blindauer

We started our blog more than years ago and now are taking a break. We feel honored to have appeared so often on the front page of the Froedtert website. We’ve been able to share information on the illnesses that we treat, but, more importantly, we’ve shared stories about the people who have these illnesses. We’ve talked about patients who dance, sing, create poetry and prose. We’ve shared ways that people are “living well” despite chronic conditions. We have been inspired.

The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Program at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin remains strong, comprehensive, interdisciplinary and continuously growing. We have three fellowship-trained movement disorder neurologists with over 40 years of experience among us. We have nationally renowned experts right here in Milwaukee. Our program offers the most up-to-date care in Parkinson’s disease (PD) including the state-of-the-art Deep Brain Stimulation surgery for PD and other movement disorders. Our nurses and therapists specialize in the treatment of PD and all have had the latest training.

Our Outreach Coordinator connects with all possible sources of information and referral for our patients regarding any psycho/social needs. She facilitates six local support groups and the Living Well with Chronic Conditions Program that we have spoken of so often.

The annual Wisconsin State Huntington Disease Conference meets on Saturday, April 21, at the Country Springs Conference Center in Pewaukee. Our annual Symposium for People with Parkinson’s and Their Families will take place on Saturday, September 15, also at the Country Springs Conference Center. Our annual Moving Forward: Ride/Walk for Parkinson’s event will again be held beside the Glacial Drumlin Trail in Dousman on Sunday, October 7.

We continue to teach medical students, residents and fellows, so the next generation of experts can carry on our legacy. We remain involved in research in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, from the basic sciences to the latest clinical trials. We continue to participate in community lectures to educate our patients about their conditions and treatment options. We remain committed to providing the most comprehensive, state of the art, compassionate, and expert care for our movement disorders patients. We’re just going to take a break from blogging.

Vicki Conte, the Community Outreach Coordinator in the Neurosciences Center is going to begin a blog that will cover topics throughout the neurosciences from ALS, dementia, epilepsy, spine care and stroke. You’ll learn about the roles that our neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuro-psychologists, and physical medicine and rehab staff play. And importantly you’ll hear about the struggles and victories of patients who are cared for here. Tune in to "The Nerve Center" on a regular basis at www.froedtert.com/nervecenter.

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