UNF physical therapy team uses grant for innovative Parkinson’s disease program (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Innovation in health care programs continues to gain momentum as the University of North Florida launches recruitment efforts for its free Parkinson’s Disease Movement Education and Exercise Therapy known as PD-MEET.
UNF is a recipient of a portion of more than $2 million in community grants awarded by the Parkinson’s Foundation programs across the U.S. The university’s doctoral in physical therapy program was allocated $18,000 and will apply the funding toward physical therapists’ compensation, participant parking, speaker fees and other costs.
Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative condition, causing impairments in both motor and non-motor systems.
“We are very excited to offer the PD-MEET program once again to individuals with Parkinson’s disease in the Jacksonville area,” said Dr. Chitra Balasubramanian, UNF physical therapy associate professor and program lead. “With support from the Parkinson’s foundation, we successfully served our first cohort in fall 2022 and are ready to recruit another cohort this spring.”
Balasubramanian told the Business Journal each cohort is run in small groups and the grant was written for a maximum of 15 individuals. Following a phone pre-screening assessment, five participants were enrolled in 2022, and she expects seven or eight participants in the 2023 cohort.
“This is a wellness program but not a traditional one,” Balasubramanian said. “Participants are empowered in different nutritional and physical health modes. The personal impact for me is servicing the community. I am a researcher, and through this community grant, we are able to help people understand the role of exercise early on in their diagnosis. That is a real important role to decrease progression.”