Columbus Community Hospital
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Parkinson's Wellness Program 

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive motor disease that can cause difficulty with walking, balance, stability, speech, vision, handwriting, muscle stiffness, voice quality, swallowing and eating. It may also cause slowness of movement and interfere with your ability to participate in or complete activities of daily living.

PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the U.S., and Nebraska has the highest prevalence of PD per capita in the world.

Columbus Community Hospital’s Rehabilitative Services has developed a comprehensive Parkinson’s Wellness Program to help reach people early in their PD diagnosis. Using a comprehensive team effort, our therapists can help people with PD delay the disease’s effects and improve your quality of life and independence.

To learn more about services for Parkinson’s disease offered through CCH, watch the Parkinson Voice Project video.

Our services 

The following are services within our Parkinson’s Wellness Program:

  • LSVT-BIG® is an intensive (four times/week for four weeks) physical, whole-body, amplitude-based training protocol for individuals with PD.
  • Parkinson Wellness Recovery – PWR!® is delivered by certified therapists and focuses on early intervention, enrichment, education and empowerment of those living with PD. The program has several therapists certified in this approach to help provide better outcomes for people with PD.
  • The CCH Parkinson’s Exercise Group is a medical wellness program in which people with PD are able to improve their quality of life by increasing their independence and enhancing their function. Sessions are offered Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. at CCH. They are delivered by certified physical or occupational therapists. Participants must either be a former LSVT-BIG® or PWR!® patient with CCH Rehabilitative Services, or have been screened by one of our PTs or OTs. The goal of the program is to get people with Parkinson’s disease active and prevent the progression of disability from PD.
  • LSVT-LOUD® is an intensive (four times/week for four weeks) speech therapy protocol used to improve the voice and swallow function for individuals with PD. CCH has two therapists certified in this approach.
  • SPEAK OUT!® is an intensive (three times/week for four weeks) speech therapy voice program used to improve the voice and swallow function of individuals with PD.
  • The CCH LOUD Crowd® is a weekly maintenance voice exercise group provided for people with PD or Parkinsonism, who have either participated in SPEAK OUT!® or LSVT-LOUD® voice therapy. The group is led by a licensed and certified speech language pathologist and is designed around a set of exercises that allow people to carry over the skills they learned in voice therapy, so they are able to keep their voices and swallow function strong long after therapy has ended.
  • Rock Steady Boxing is a class that includes boxing drills to help people with PD slow their disease progression.
  • Occupational therapy focuses on activities of daily living such as the fine motor skills needed for dressing, bathing and grooming; reduction of hand tremors with adapted utensils for eating and writing (micrographia); and visual rehab.
  • The Columbus Area Parkinson Disease Support Group, facilitated by Rehabilitative Services, meets the second Thursday of the month in the CCH third-floor conference center at 1:30 p.m. Guest speakers present information on topics the group members have selected, and there is time afterward for questions/answers and sharing.
  • The PD Resource Library in Rehabilitative Services includes supportive information from the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF), The Parkinson’s Voice Project (Richardson, TX), PWR!Gym (Tucson, AZ) and the UNMC Movement Disorders Clinic. Also available are Speak Out!® workbooks, LSVT-LOUD® and BIG® Homework Helper DVDs and digital sound level meters for The CCH LOUD Crowd® participants.

Additional programs:

CCH’s Rehabilitative Services also offers several other programs that enhance treatment options for people with PD, including programs for driver rehabilitation, urinary incontinence, visual rehabilitation, hand therapy (fine motor skills and micrographia), Interactive Metronome (IM) therapy, home safety assessments, and wheelchair and power mobility device evaluations. We also offer specialized balance and fall reduction training that uses high-tech equipment including body weight supporting devices.

We are fortunate to have such a comprehensive Parkinson’s Wellness Program. It is one of only a few such programs in the state of Nebraska.

Our therapists fully believe that their innovative approach to PD treatment offers better outcomes than conventional therapy.

Contact us

For more information about the services provided in the Parkinson’s Wellness Program, contact Rehabilitative Services at 402-562-3333.

The CCH Rehab Services Parkinson’s Wellness Program has been made possible through the generous donations of the families of Dr. Jack Anderson and Leon Wragge to the Columbus Community Hospital Foundation, and through the support of matching funds from CCH.

Rehab Services at the Wellness Center
3912 38th St., Suite A
Columbus, NE 68601
402-562-3333
Hours:
Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.