Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center: Knocking Out Parkinson’s Disease

Patients are going the distance to knock out Parkinson’s disease with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. A National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence, the center has managed nearly 200,000 patient visits and more than 12,000 education and wellness classes since opening in 1997. www.thebarrow.org
“At the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, you learn that there’s so much more you can do to keep a good quality of life,” says Ida Stanford, a patient at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix who is featured in the short documentary video about Parkinson’s disease. “You have to learn to live the best you can. I couldn’t imagine having Parkinson’s and not having a place like this.”
In addition to movement disorder neurologists and neuropsychologists, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix also provides speech, occupational and physical therapies. The center’s outreach program emphasizes maintain a positive quality of life, offering support groups, education classes, art and voice classes, music therapy, singing groups and unique Parkinson’s specific exercise opportunities including dance, yoga, golf, tai chi and pole walking. With support from the neurosurgeons at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Barrow Neurological Institute, the center has become a leader in deep brain stimulation (DBS)-a revolutionary treatment for movement disorders that involves a surgically implanted medical device, called a “brain pacemaker.”
“To have Muhammad Ali’s name on our program implies terrific responsibility,” says Abraham Lieberman, MD, neurologist and director at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix. “This video is an incredible testament to the strong community we’ve created to offer the quality care and support all patients deserve to receive.”