National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
Parkinson’s Foundation Partnership
Veterans diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease find comprehensive support at VA Centers of Excellence
Dr. Indu Subramanian says that the health care professionals working within the VA Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s disease exemplify the power of collaboration—and that teamwork benefits the Veterans who visit.
At these Centers—known as Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (PADRECCs)—a Veteran’s health care team can include pharmacists, psychologists, surgeons, rehabilitation specialists, and others.
“It’s a great example of a multidisciplinary team approach you may not be able to get in other places,” says Dr. Subramanian, who is the director of the Southwest PADRECC.
The six PADRECCs in the United States (as well as the 51 Consortium Centers, regional clinics for Veterans unable to travel to a PADRECC) were established in 2001 to help Veterans diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). VA estimates that 110,000 Veterans are living with PD, which is a disorder of the central nervous system causing symptoms related to the movement of the muscles, as well as other non-motor symptoms impacting mental health, cognition, and sleep.
VA partnered with the Parkinson’s Foundation in 2020 to raise awareness about PD and make more resources available for Veterans, through the PADRECCs and throughout VA.
Since PD affects not just motor functions but also mental health and other areas, Dr. Subramanian says the PADRECCs focus on integrative medicine and holistic approaches to care, such as yoga and mindfulness.
“At the PADRECCs we have some ‘shining stars’ in psychiatry,” she explains. “A number of psychiatrists who are working with Veterans are the only ones in the world who know about Parkinson’s [at this level].”
Part of what informs her work at the PADRECCs is a consideration of what factors help Veterans with PD do well across all aspects of their life; she believes in helping Veterans to understand the variables they can control while living with PD, such as movement, hydration, sleep, and social connection.
“In general, loneliness among Parkinson’s patients stood out,” she explains, based on a research study that included Veterans with PD. “Even if you have a confidant or an intimate partner, [you need] friendships and societal connections.”
Dr. Subramanian and other PADRECC providers will help bring Veterans into more events—virtual or in-person where appropriate—where they can find a sense of social connection. Among other factors like access to food security, housing, and transportation, access to social connection is a social determinant of health (SDOH). SDOH are conditions in the environments where people live that affect a wide range of health outcomes.
“My being trained as an integrative medicine doctor has made me realize these social determinants are so key,” said Dr. Subramanian. “VA is very open-minded to [this] holistic view, the Whole Health view.”
PADRECC providers work with the Parkinson’s Foundation to do outreach for Veterans with PD. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP, formerly the Office of Community Engagement) supports this partnership and others focused on the SDOH. Learn more at va.gov/healthpartnerships.
For more on the PADRECCs and Consortium Centers, visit parkinsons.va.gov/care.asp.
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Posted May 24, 2021
