P.A.R.K. Program gaining statewide attention

Kristi Fish, DHI Media Staff
July 18, 2016

Bob Kann runs the P.A.R.K. Program at Vanvcrest. He helps Parkinson’s patients learn the steps to functional activities and be as independent as possible. On Friday, he worked with patients to understand the steps for getting in and out of bed. (DHI Media/Kristi Fish)

DELPHOS — Physical Therapist Bob Kann began treating Parkinson’s patients at his clinic in 1988. In the beginning he worked with only five patients, but this Friday he had 35 people attend his class.

One of the attendees at his program was Annie Wallis, Program Manager at the National Parkinson Foundation, Ohio Chapter. Wallis has been working with the foundation for a year and has already attended one of the P.A.R.K programs.

“Mr. Kann reached out to me a few months ago and I went to one of his previous programs,” Wallis said. “When he asked if I would come to the one today I was happy to.”

Wallis used today as a chance to reach out to Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers to offer support, information and help.

“I brought along a lot of resources to give to them today,” she said. “I was really hoping to just be able to connect with these patients.”

One of the resources Wallis brought along was the Aware in Care Kit along with multiple informational booklets and pamphlets.

“The kit is a tool bag to help patients and their caregivers advocate for the care they need and deserve,” Wallis said.

The kit was developed after a study found that three in four Parkinson’s patients do not receive their medication on time in the hospital. This can lead to complications that could have been avoided.

In the kit, patients store reminder slips to let hospital staff know they have Parkinson’s Disease, fact sheets about the disease, their medication form, medical alert card, Parkinson’s Disease ID badge and their medications.

Kann thanked Wallis for coming and for the help the foundation has provided his program. Kann also thanked Mick Murphy, Administrator at Vancrest, and the rest of those at Vancrest for their help with his program.

“Vancrest is the reason this program is free and all of these people are able to attend and get the care they need,” Kann said.

For Friday’s class the attendees were shown the techniques to get in and out of bed.

“We work with chairs, cars, the principles of walking, anything,” Kann said. “Today we’re working on the techniques needed to get in to bed.”

Kann walked patients through the steps. He urged them to always go slowly and get as close to the bed as possible. Attendees were also informed to line up their bodies and restart when they realized they had messed up.

“We’re doing this in a controlled fashion here so it’s safe,” Kann said. “Although we do it once a week here, it needs to be done everyday at home, that is the key.”

Kann called participants up to the bed in the front of the room to allow them all to practice in the controlled environment. They were given the chance to practice getting into the bed and out and Kann also watched how they each stood up and sat down in the chairs to make sure they were following through with his guidelines.

When each patient approached the bed Kann would have them repeat the action numerous times to help them build their muscles and to remember the actions more clearly.

“There are exercises you can do to build strength, but by repeating this same action five times everyday you will strengthen the exact muscles you need to perform the activity,” Kann said.

Kann’s program is held once weekly and is free to those in attendance. Additional information about the program can be found at Parkinson’s Disease Treatment PARK and SARI on Facebook or pdparkohio.com

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