parkinson disease colorado

2023 World Parkinson Disease Day

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April 11 is World Parkinson Disease Day. The faculty and staff at the University of Colorado are proud to work with the Parkinson Community. While patient care is a large part of our care for the Parkinson’s community, there is a lot more they do outside of the clinic.

The Anschutz Medical Campus is a training facility for upcoming medical providers. Our faculty participates in the education of young medical students and residents. Additionally, we have a movement disorders fellowship program to train the next generation of movement disorders neurologists. In addition to becoming part of our own faculty, these trainees have gone on to serve movement disorders communities in underserved areas and continue clinical research in their own practices. You can learn more about our program and its importance by visitng our Fund-a-Fellow page.

Our faculty are also leading research to find new therapies or better understand Parkinson disease. This research can include trials of potential new medications or devices. It also includes research projects initiated by our own faculty that help patients and care partners. If you are interested in learning more about our research, we have a research catalog and a research website for you to view. If you are interested in participating in clinical research, contact our research recruitment team. Many resources are available in English and Spanish.
e-mail: NeuroResearch@cuanschutz.edu
phone: 303-724-4644
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In 2022, our faculty provided 64 formal talks to patients, care partners, medical providers, and medical learners. These talks were regional, national, and international. Our faculty finds so much value in providing access to updated information to the Parkinson’s community to help them take control of their health. If you are interested in having someone speak to your group, please reach out to movement@ucdenver.edu.

In addition, we will host our 10th Annual Parkinson Disease Symposium on October 28, 2023. Follow our Facebook page for updated details. You can look for an event page on our website soon. We look forward to an informational and exciting day with many special extras this year.

The University of Colorado Movement Disorders Center looks forward to continuing these missions in 2023 and beyond. We look forward to connecting with you.

Parkinson’s Disease: Treatment Options and General Information

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This event is hosted by Abbott, but Abbott has no control over the content of the presentation.

Please join our webinar with Dr. Drew Kern, Movement Disorders Specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Subjects to be discussed:

  • What comes after diagnosis
  • Treatment options/resources
  • Surgical options
  • How CU Anschutz can help with your journey

RSVP:

Taylor.Humphries@abbott.com

Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84142033436

Download the event flyer here.

Estate Planning for Families Affected by Parkinson’s Disease

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Please join us for a virtual conversation around creating estate plans for families with Parkinson’s

 Julie Westbrock.png

Julie Westbrock, Vice President of Business Development, TrustPoint Wealth Management

Wednesday, February 8 from 2 pm – 3 pm EST

RSVP Required

As the Vice President of Business Development, Julie’s team works with individuals, families, organizations, and businesses that benefit from sophisticated wealth-related services. She leverages her years of experience in her solo practice to help clients with complex trust and estate needs including settlement preservation trusts, special needs trusts, and estate planning.

Julie earned her BS in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University in New York and her Juris Doctor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. Her career has focused around helping individuals with all aspects of estate planning.

Julie, her husband, and son live in the Minneapolis area. She enjoys her husband’s BBQ, her son’s rock band performances, and spending time at the family farm. She is active in the Minnesota/ Dakotas Chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation, an organization dear to her heart. She is also involved with the Positive Coaching Alliance and the Rotary Club of Edina.

Julie will help participants understand the basics of setting up estate plans.

Cognition & Hallucinations

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movement disorders specialist coloradoDr. Alex Baumgartner will present. More details to follow.

This event is being hosted by the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.

Cognitive Changes in Parkinson’s Disease

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This lecture will discuss common cognitive complications of Parkinson’s disease, treatment for these changes, and current research on the topic. This talk will introduce concepts such as Parkinson’s disease dementia and Lewy body dementia. We will focus on identifying these symptoms and what medications and alternative therapies can be used to help. Dr. Heffernan will also discuss mental health complications of Parkinson’s disease and the best way to understand and treat those symptoms as well.

Dr. Heffernan received her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Bethel College in central Kansas. She went to medical school at the University of Kansas and completed her residency training at the University of Colorado, serving as chief resident in her fourth year. She is a board-certified neurologist who is completing subspeciality training in Movement Disorders at the University of Colorado. She has a special interest in the cognitive associations with Parkinson’s diseae.

This event is being hosted by the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.

Memory and Cognitive Issues in Parkinson’s Disease

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Dr. Jeanne Feuerstein will present. More details to follow.

This event is being hosted by the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.

From Dependent to Independent: Treatment Options for Essential Tremor & Parkinson’s Disease

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Please join Dr. Drew Kern (Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Movement Disorders Neurologist) for a virtual event as he discusses the incisionless, outpatient treatment for patients diagnosed with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s disease. Event attendees will learn how this innovative treatment can enhance and transform patients’ lives by improving hand tremor without invasive surgery.

Register now by visiting Resources.Insightec.com/Colorado.

See the event flyer here.

Insightec is hosting this event but does not provide or have influence over the content of the presentation.

Transitions

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The Movement Disorders Center is growing again! A handful of providers have moved on from our center for various personal reasons, including retirement and spouses being transferred to new positions. But we are excited to welcome new faculty to our group.

The faculty and staff at the center continue to be dedicated to improving the lives of people with movement disorders.

We announced in our newsletter that Dr. Alex Baumgartner and Dr. Michael Korsmo will be graduating from our fellowship program and will be joining us as faculty in August. Both bring niched areas of expertise that will help round out our center.

Dr. Baumgartner will be joining Dr. Kern as part of our advanced therapies and deep brain stimulation (DBS) team in the operating room. In the past few years, the number of DBS surgeries performed yearly has nearly doubled. The team has recently added a new neurosurgeon and more programmers as well. Dr. Baumgartner will see patients in the clinic at the Anschutz Medical Campus and in Lone Tree.

Dr. Korsmo will be expanding our reach to underserved communities. In addition, he will be seeing patients at our main clinic on the Anschutz Medical Campus and at our Boulder clinic.

Dr. Vaughan is expanding her neuro-palliative clinic. Her clinic will now be found at the Anschutz Medical Campus. By moving her clinic, Dr. Vaughan and her patients will have access to more services and resources. Her focus will now be neuro-palliative care; the main difference is that she will not be the primary movement disorders specialist for patients. She will still serve the movement disorders community through neuro-palliative care during all stages of diseases. She will still be available to all patients for neuro-palliative care via telehealth.

For more information about neuro-palliative care, you can read our Fall 2021 newsletter.

MDC Receives Parkinson’s Foundation Award

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The University of Colorado Movement Disorders Center received an award from the Parkinson’s Foundation for the Highest Team Participation for the Parkinson’s Foundation Palliative Care Education Course. The award was presented at this year’s COE Leadership Conference and was accepted by Ryan Khan, a chaplain who works closely with our Palliative Care team.

In 2020, the Parkinson’s Foundation launched an initiative to make palliative care a standard practice of care across all Centers of Excellence in the United States. The MDC received the award for being the Center of Excellence (COE) with the most team members who have completed the online Palliative Care Training.

The Movement Disorders Center is honored to receive this award in recognition to our dedication to patient care.