Jessica Tax, BS Kinesiology, CPT, CCET, RSB Coach, OES, SFT, discusses why exercise intensity is important in the battle against Parkinson’s disease. She talks about what exercise intensity really means and provides practical examples for you to use in your own workouts. Jessica also touches on the benefits of using games to achieve a higher level of exercise intensity while increasing enjoyment.

Jessica is CEO and Owner of Move Up Health and Fitness, a company that specializes in providing individual and small group exercise programs aimed at achieving better outcomes for those affected by health challenges and developmental differences. She has developed exercise programs for over 15 years and has helped dozens of clients move better so they can live better.

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Jelena Etemovic, MS, RD, is a Registered Dietitian specializing in providing nutrition therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this video, she discusses the role that nutrition plays in optimizing health for those living with Parkinson’s and how to overcome common PD-related challenges. Jelena covers the role that a Registered Dietitian plays in the management of PD, the top foods to eat, how to manage the timing of meals and medication, and how to alleviate constipation with diet.

Jelena’s path into the specialized field of nutrition for Parkinson’s began when her father was diagnosed, marking the onset of her role as his primary caregiver. Jelena has developed nutrition interventions targeted at addressing key PD complications such as constipation, fatigue, sleep issues, brain fog, anxiety and other related symptoms. Her specialized approach empowers individuals with PD to experience meaningful improvements in their overall health and quality of life.

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Dr. Mason will discuss Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s disease: who this therapy is right for, how it works, what to expect, and how to choose a surgeon and device that's a good fit.

Dr. Mason completed his medical training at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and UCLA. He undertook a research fellowship with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and training in Clinical/Translational Research with the UCLA-CTSI and SC-CTSI. He joined the USC faculty in the departments of Neurological Surgery and Neurology in 2021.

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Patricia Miller, M.A., CCC-SLP, Founder and Executive Director of SoCal Speech Therapy & Swallowing Diagnostics joins us to discuss the importance of speech therapy in the management of Parkinson’s disease, how the SPEAK OUT! Program can benefit patients at different stages of their PD journey, and what to do if you are concerned about your voice.

SoCal Speech Therapy & Swallowing Diagnostics is an insurance-based, adult-focused speech therapy practices with a specialty in treating PD patients via telemedicine statewide in California. They are currently credentialed with Medicare, HealthNet, HealthCare LA IPA, Lakeside Medical Group and Regal Medical Group.

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Charity, from the Valley Caregiver Resource Center, joins us to talk about their services, where to find resources within the community, and the benefits of using community resources.

Valley Caregiver Resource Center is dedicated to providing the highest quality of services to seniors, caregivers, and their family members.

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Fresno has a new movement disorder specialist in town, and he joined us in August to discuss the value of the movement disorder subspecialty for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He discussed clinical trials, what to look for when enrolling, and how to stay informed of new trials. In taking questions from the audience, Dr. Farbman covered everything from how to schedule a visit to how he manages treatment of Parkinson's disease to what the latest breakthroughs mean for the future of Parkinson's disease research.

Eric Farbman, MD recently arrived from Las Vegas where he served as the Chief of Movement Disorders Section at Roseman University of Health Sciences. While in Las Vegas, Dr. Farbman was active in the neurological community, seeing patients, teaching future doctors, and conducting research. He is looking forward to sharing his decades of expertise with the Central Valley. Watch the video to learn more about Dr. Farbman and how a movement disorder specialist can play an important role in the management of Parkinson’s disease.

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Sabrina Nii, clinic director at the Fresno State Speech, Language, Hearing, and Research Clinic, will join us to discuss the speech therapy research program at Fresno State. As part of their research, the clinic offers free speech therapy for individuals with Parkinson's and Parkinson's-plus syndrome.

SPEAK OUT!® is the first in a two-part speech therapy program designed for individuals with Parkinson's and Parkinson's-plus syndrome. The series of twelve individual speech therapy sessions are led by a graduate student who conducts an evaluation and follows a treatment plan outlined by the SPEAK OUT!® program.

In the LOUD Crowd® group program, graduate students will conduct ongoing speech therapy sessions to provide vocal practice, accountability, and encouragement in group format. These sessions are designed to help you maintain the progress you made in the SPEAK OUT!® program.

All research clinic programs are under the supervision of a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist.

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Mark Krel, D.O., Fresno's very own movement disorder neurosurgeon explains everything you need to know about Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and how it is changing the landscape for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Krel is a California native and completed his undergraduate, graduate, medical education, neurosurgical residency, and fellowship training in the state. After his neurosurgery residency, Dr. Krel received subspecialty training and served as a clinical instructor in stereotactic, functional, epilepsy, and pain neurosurgery at Standford University. He specializes in movement disorders (Parkinson's Disease, Tremor, Dystonia, etc.), epilepsy, pain, and psychosurgery to treat depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

Dr. Krel is instrumental in developing the movement disorder program at the Community Medical Centers. He is grateful for the opportunity to partner with patients in their care and looks forward to working to improve the health of the community.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Krel, contact his office at 559.222.7246.

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Randi Tedford, MA, RD discusses the importance of good nutrition and the role it plays in managing Parkinson’s disease. You’ll get recommendations on how to achieve and maintain a balanced, healthy diet to best fuel your body and learn ways to time your meals for better medication absorption.

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The Parkinson’s Foundation and the American College of Sports medicine partnered up to release Parkinson’s exercise recommendations, and Team Move Up is joining us again to help you get the most out of those recommendations. Get a full and clear explanation about the various categories of exercise and how best to incorporate them for a well-balanced fitness program that will save you time while maximizing benefit. You’ll also learn and practice several exercises that you can add to your repertoire!

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We're making 2023 a year focused on health and self-care! Our dynamic coaches created a routine that combines agility, balance, strength, and cardiovascular training in a fun format that is appropriate for all levels. Now you can watch the video throughout the year to improve your fitness and battle Parkinson's disease!

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We are so excited to have Elizabeth Foss, Occupational Therapist, join us to talk to you about balance and Parkinson’s disease! In this presentation, Elizabeth teaches you more about balance and what you can do to overcome challenges. She discusses our balance strategies, sensory systems, strength components and postural contributions that integrate to make up our balance, along with interventions to uptrain each one. Elizabeth has been a practicing occupational therapist for 11 years and specializes in working with the neurological populations with a passion for serving those with Cerebellar Ataxia and Parkinson's Disease. She is the YouTube content creator for the channel "Little Steps, Big Gains" in which she provides free resources with educational videos and exercise programs for neurological and older adult populations. Elizabeth is certified in LSVT BIG, Otaga, stroke rehabilitation and Tai-Chi. She is also a Certified Functional Aging Specialist and an Older Adult Exercise Consultant.

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In this video, Jessica Tax, CEO of Move Up Health and Fitness, discusses the latest research on physical and mental exercises that can be used to strengthen the brain throughout life, even into our later years.

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Caterina Mosti, PhD gives an excellent presentation on sleep disturbance and Parkinson’s disease. You will learn about healthy sleep, the different types of sleep disturbance, and ways you can get your own sleep back on track. If you have difficulty sleeping this is a must-watch!

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In this presentation, Dr. Hajela gives you information about telehealth physical therapy, and how you can get utilize this type of session to get the most from your physical therapy team.

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