ATTP Faculty

Bassich, Celia Ph.D.: Celia Bassich worked as a Research Speech Pathologist at the National Institute of Neurologic and Communicative Disorders, National Institutes of Health from 1977 – 1992, where she investigated the speech disorders associated with Parkinson's disease. In 1992, she joined the faculty at Towson University, located near Baltimore, MD. She is currently the Speech Pathology Graduate Program director and teaches an undergraduate course in Speech Science and graduate courses in adult neurogenic speech disorders and voice disorders. Her doctoral dissertation involved an investigation of vocal dysfunction in young-onset Parkinson's disease. Celia has published numerous articles in the field of speech-language pathology and has made several presentations about her work in the field. Her clinical and research interests include Parkinson'sism. Celia is certified in the Lee Silverman Voice treatment method for persons with Parkinson's. She has served as Speech-language pathology faculty in ATTP I and ATTP II. Celia may be contacted at: cbassich@towson.edu.

D’Alli, Arlene M.S.W., L.C.S.W.: is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the Duke University Movement Disorders Center in Durham, NC. She received her Master of Social Work from Arizona State University in 1981 and has over twenty five years of medical social work experience.

Arlene was first introduced to the world of Parkinson's disease in 1998 when she accepted a newly created position as a clinical social worker at the Johns Hopkins Movement Disorders Center working with Dr. Stephen Reich and Becky Dunlop, R.N. In addition to her work in the clinic, she developed a Parkinson's caregiver support group and gave presentations at state-wide Parkinson's support groups, educational programs and symposia. In a subsequent move to North Carolina, she was recruited by Dr. Mark Stacy to work at the Duke University Movement Disorders Center, now a newly designated NPF Center of Excellence, where she has been able to carry forth her excitement in working with this “richly complex” population. Arlene has continued in her multi-faceted role at Duke, providing direct clinical care, support group facilitation, development of a Parkinson's disease 101 program and presentations throughout the state of North Carolina. Arlene may be reached at: dalli@duke.edu.

Gardner, Joan R.N. B.S.N.: is the clinic supervisor at Struthers Parkinson's Center in Minneapolis, MN, and serves as coordinator of the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF) Center of Excellence. As part of the Struthers Parkinson's Center leadership team, Joan is responsible for the maintenance and advancement of multi-disciplinary team programs. She also leads nurses in the clinical, Deep Brain Stimulation, and adult day program teams. Joan is a strong advocate for client wellness and empowerment and provides nursing assessment and education to patients and families as a part of the multi-disciplinary team. Joan is a resource to the Parkinson's community nation-wide, answering questions from the NPF toll-free line through the “Ask the Nurse” program.

Through educational efforts, Joan is committed to increasing awareness of Parkinson's, improving care for individuals with Parkinson's and supporting carepartners. She co-produced the TULIPS© program for Parkinson's care, an educational toolkit for senior residential facilities and community service organizations. She co-authored the NPF manual “Managing Advanced Parkinson's Disease.”

Joan joined the Methodist Hospital Respite program in 1994, providing in-home nursing assessments. She subsequently joined the Struthers Parkinson's Center multi-disciplinary team. At that time Joan also developed the nursing role within the newly opened Parkinson's adult day program on site at Struthers. Joan is a member of the Parkinson's Association of Minnesota Advisory Board. She is also a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and the Minnesota Holistic Nurses Association.

Prior to working with the Parkinson's community, Joan worked 16 years as a home health care nurse for a number of agencies in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Joan received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Joan may be contacted at: gardnj@parknicollet.com.

Giroux, Monique M.D.: is the medical director of the Booth Gardner Parkinson's Care Center in Kirkland WA an NPF Care Center. Dr. Giroux is a national leader in comprehensive patient-centered care for Parkinson's and related movement disorders. She completed her residency at Yale followed by a 2 year fellowship in Movement Disorders at Emory University in Atlanta. She is board certified in Neurology. Prior experience includes the Medical Directorship of Outpatient Movement Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. While at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Giroux established the Euclid Hospital Neurorehabilitation program for Parkinson's and served as medical director for the National Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence for Parkinson's disease.

Her focus of care and research is on the development of interdisciplinary rehabilitation, team medicine and wellness for PD. Dr. Giroux has developed specialized Neurorehabilitation programs for patients with Parkinson's's and movement disorders, DBS patients, Botox therapies, Spasticity, and Gait and Balance. She is medical faculty for the National Parkinson's Foundation National Allied Health Training Program and is a recognized speaker in chronic illness and quality care models for PD. Monique may be contacted at: MGiroux@evergreenhealthcare.org.

Hagestuen, Ruth R.N., M.A.: Ruth Hagestuen’s work with Parkinson's disease began in 1987 when she joined the Methodist Hospital Parkinson's Center as nurse coordinator of a multidisciplinary clinic and regional information and referral center of the American Parkinson's Disease Association (APDA). She eventually assumed the role of program director as the Center evolved and was renamed the Struthers Parkinson's Center. The Struthers Parkinson's Center is designed to provide interdisciplinary, comprehensive care for persons with Parkinson's and their families. The Struthers Parkinson's Center was designated as a Center of Excellence by the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF) in 1995.

In July of 2000 Ruth joined the NPF staff as National Program Director and remained with the Foundation as director of programs until July, 2009. In this position she worked with affiliates nationally and internationally developing strategies to better meet needs of the Parkinson's community through care, outreach and other community initiatives. Two signature programs that were initiated under her leadership are the Allied Team Training for Parkinson's (ATTP) and the National Parkinson's Care Network (NPCN). She continues as a consultant to the National Parkinson's Foundation as director of these two programs.

Ruth Hagestuen’s work with the NYU Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center began in August, 2009. In this position she has the opportunity on a local / regional level to work with an interdisciplinary team and their collaborative partners toward accomplishing that which she has been promoting on a national / international level. Her passion is to help create an environment which offers the best care, information, and support for persons whose lives are affected by Parkinson's disease. And that this care and these resources are accessible at the right time, over time, throughout the course of the disease. Ruth may be contacted at: rh@Parkinson's.org.

Imke, Susan R.N., M.S.: is an advanced nurse practitioner holding dual certification in gerontology and family healthcare. She earned a Master of Science Degree in Community Health Education from the University of North Texas and maintains a geriatric consulting practice in Fort Worth, Texas.

Imke is Chairperson for the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Advisory Board for Mid-level Practitioners, and served on the National Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence Review Panel and the Board of Directors of the Parkinson's Alliance in Princeton, NJ.

Susan has been a front-line family caregiver for more than a decade, and has authored numerous publications for families living with Parkinson's disease. She is an acclaimed speaker to audiences of health care professionals and family caregivers on topics related to neurology of aging and living with chronic illness. Susan may be reached at: susanimke@yahoo.com.

Kornegay, Denise M.S.W.: holds faculty appointments as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia and in the Department of Community Science at the Mercer University School of Medicine. In her dual role appointments, she serves as the Program Director for the Georgia Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network. In this capacity, Ms. Kornegay works to create an appropriately trained, diversified, and geographically distributed health workforce in the state. Her areas of expertise include: rural health and rural outreach, grant writing and resource acquisition, community based coalition building, legislative advocacy, health workforce development (including recruitment and retention initiatives), and family and social roles in personal health. In addition to her roles in these areas, Ms. Kornegay has developed several training seminars that she conducts with various non-profits and grass roots organizations. These seminars include: Board Development and Training, How to be an Effective Advocate, Family Relationships and Health, Team Building and Leadership, Personality Styles and Assessments, Communication Styles, Cultural Diversity, and Nurse Mentor Training programs. Each of these seminars is offered in formats ranging from one afternoon to four days. Ms. Kornegay serves on the Boards of Directors for each of the six AHEC Centers, as well as numerous state tasks forces and work groups. She provides lectures to health professions students in the Schools of Dentistry, Allied Health, Medicine, and Nursing at MCG as well as at the College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University where she is an adjunct faculty member. Other administration positions previously held include Special Assistant to the President for Health Policy (Medical College of Georgia); Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation and Associate Director, Office of Health Policy at Mercer University School of Medicine; and Consultant to the Governor’s Task Force on Rural Hospitals in Georgia for the State Health Planning Agency. Professional appointments held by Ms. Kornegay include the Editorial Board for the National AHEC Bulletin and the National Association of Social Workers where Ms. Kornegay served as a Board member and Legislative Committee Chair. In addition, she chaired the Advisory Council on Rural Health for the Georgia Department of Community Health and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Georgia Rural Health Association. She currently serves on the Regents Nursing Education Task Force planning nursing education expansions and programming for the state. Denise may be contacted at: dkornega@mcg.edu.

Morgan, John M.D., Ph.D.: grew-up in Jacksonville, Florida and attended the University of Florida and the University of North Florida for his undergraduate education receiving a BS in Biology from UNF in 1990. He then attended the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA from 1990-1999 and earned his MD in 1998 and PhD after completing his thesis in 1999. His PhD is in developmental neuroscience, studying how an oncogene affected brain development.

He attended the University of Virginia for his Internship in Internal Medicine and his Neurology training from 1998-2002. He did a fellowship in laboratory of Dr. James Bennett at UVA for 1 year from 2002-2003, during which time he also focused on Movement Disorders clinically.

He trained with Kapil Sethi at the Medical College of Georgia as a student and became interested in Movement Disorders through his influence. He did a 6 month clinical fellowship in Movement Disorders with Dr. Sethi from July 2003-December 2003. He then took a position as an Assistant Professor in the Movement Disorders Program with Dr. Sethi in the Department of Neurology at MCG in 2003.

John's major interest is in Parkinson's disease. He is the Medical Director of the NPF Center of Excellence at MCG. He also helps lead and direct their Interdisciplinary Clinic for movement disorder patients. He has participated with NPF in the Community Partners Program in Augusta, attempting to increase PD knowledge as well as pathways to care for underserved communities. He has also served as ATTP faculty for the past several years lecturing throughout the country. John also has significant clinical and research interests in Huntington's disease, Restless Legs Syndrome and various other movement disorders. John may be contacted at: jmorgan@mcg.edu.

Tomaino, Concetta M.D.A., MT-BC: Dr. Concetta Tomaino is the Executive Director/ Co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, where she has worked since 1980. It is at this facility that she worked with the post-encephalitic Parkinson's patients highlighted in Oliver Sack’s book “Awakenings”. Since then, with support from Beth Abraham’s leadership and financial assistance from state, federal and private grants, she helped lay the groundwork for the creation of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and built a world class Music Therapy program at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services. She graduated from SUNY at Stony Brook with a BA in Music Performance (her instrument is the trumpet), a minor in psychology and sciences, and a commitment to the emerging field of music therapy. She received the Masters and Doctor of Arts in Music Therapy from New York University

Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation. She has lectured on music therapy throughout the United States and in Australia, South Africa, Italy, England, and Canada. She is past president of the American Association for Music Therapy and received the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations. In 1999 she received a Touchstone Award from “Women in Music” for her visionary spirit. Her work has been featured in national programs including 48 Hours and 60 Minutes; in international programs including the BBC; and in books on health and healing, including Musicophilia, and An Anthropologist on Mars, by Oliver Sacks, M.D.; A Matter of Dignity, by Andrew Potok; The Mozart Effect, by Don Campbell; Age Protectors (Rodale Press) and Sounds of Healing, by Mitchell Gaynor, M.D. She was honored with the 2004 Zella Bronfman Butler Award which is given by the UJA-Federation of New York in partnership with the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation to professionals in the UJA-Federation agency network for their outstanding work on behalf of individuals with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities.

Dr. Tomaino has participated as a Super Panelist for the GRAMMY in the Schools program. She is adjunct clinical supervisor for several music therapy programs in the New York area. She is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Brookdale Center on Aging, and the New York State Geriatric Education Consortium, and on the visiting faculty of Berklee College of Music and Shenandoah University. She has served on the Certification Board of Music Therapists, the Journal of Music Therapy, and on the advisory boards for the Center for Alternative Research at the Kessler Institute, and the International Journal of Arts Medicine.imnf.org.

VandenDolder, Rick OTR/L: received a BA in liberal arts from the University of Connecticut in 1976, and a certificate in Occupational Therapy from the College of St. Catherine in 1991. He is a senior Occupational Therapist on the Struthers Parkinson's Center multidisciplinary team. He has worked in health care for 29 years, including hospital acute care, rehabilitation centers, long term care, home care, and outpatient treatment. For the past 11 years, he has worked primarily with patients with Parkinson's disease, providing assessment, treatment, home evaluations, and job site evaluations, as part of a multidisciplinary team. He also teaches community exercise groups, and has been involved in ongoing program development in the Center’s CREATE program, including horticulture therapy, ceramics, and woodworking. He has presented at professional education conferences locally and nationally. He is presently involved in research involving assessment tools for occupational therapy in Parkinson's diseased, driving skills and Parkinson's disease, and outcome studies in occupational therapy treatment of Parkinson's disease. Rick may be contacted at: vander@parknicollet.com.

Wichmann, Rose P.T.: has been a member of the Struthers Parkinson's Center team for over 20 years, and is currently the center manager. She received her degree in physical therapy from the University of Minnesota in 1981 and has been employed by Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital since that time. Rose served as a staff physical therapist at Methodist Hospital, physical therapy supervisor of Methodist Home Care/Hospice Services, and supervisor for Senior Services in the Rehab Services department, which included physical therapy/exercise consultation and program development in long term care, adult day care, and senior housing facilities. Throughout her tenure in this organization, Rose has been a member of the Parkinson's Disease Clinic multi-disciplinary assessment team, and has seen thousands of patients living with Parkinson's who are seeking specialty physical therapy services.

Rose was a member of the three person Parkinson's Respite team at Methodist Hospital who originated the CREATE concept, and was integrally involved in the Center’s development and expansion to the new Struthers Parkinson's Center in 1995. She assumed the role of CREATE Program Supervisor at that time, and moved into the position of Center manager in 1998. In addition to her administrative and leadership duties, Rose has a special interest in education, and currently coordinates the education component of Struthers Parkinson's Center, including curriculum development and conferences for patients, family members, and health care professionals.

Rose has authored several exercise manuals for people with Parkinson's, including “Be Active” (distributed nationally by the American Parkinson's Disease Association and the Italian Parkinson's Association) and “Fitness Counts”, a publication of the National Parkinson's Foundation. In 2007, she co-authored the NPF manual Care for Late Stage Parkinson's Disease, and produced the TULIPS program, a Parkinson's educational toolkit designed for senior residential facilities. She is also the author of “The Role of Physical Therapy in Parkinson's Disease”, a chapter in the textbook Parkinson's disease, published in 2004 by CRC Press. Rose has given numerous presentations on Parkinson's disease at local, regional and national levels, and has collaborated on several research projects. She has served as the national coordinator for numerous travel groups designed specifically for people with Parkinson's and their care partners. She was a founding board member of the Parkinson's Association of Minnesota, and is a past president of this organization. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, and a clinical instructor in the University of MN and College of St. Catherine Masters Physical Therapy programs. Rose may be contacted at: wichmr@parknicollet.com.

Consultant

Cohen, Elaine V. Ph.D.: a research/program evaluation and program development consultant, has over 30 years of experience as a practicing clinician and applied researcher in the health services field. Elaine received a Ph.D. in research in psychology from the Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, and a certificate from the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. As former Director of Evaluation and Planning for one of the largest health and human services agencies in New Jersey, Elaine was responsible for overseeing and developing evaluation and review systems, strategic planning and program development for an agency with a wide range of programs (for older adults, behavioral healthcare, immigrants and refugees, at-risk families, etc.). Elaine has designed and carried out evaluations of many initiatives and offered consultation on program evaluation and research to managers of a wide range of programs. Elaine developed and managed the agency’s management information system. She has extensive grant writing experience, having successfully won grant awards for demonstration projects, including evaluation of federally funded projects of national significance. Elaine is currently consultant in research and program development to the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF).

She helped develop the NPF Charter for Centers of Excellence and served on the NPF Centers Review Board to designate NPF Centers of Excellence and review grant requests. Elaine served as consultant to the NPF Task Force on Caregiver Initiatives. She is currently Principal Investigator studying the effectiveness of NPF’s two signature programs, including the national model Allied Team Training for Parkinson's (ATTP) training program for healthcare professionals, and National Parkinson's Care Network/ Community Partners for Parkinson's Care (NPCN/CPP), a national outreach and health promotion initiative in diverse urban and rural underserved communities. Elaine co-authored, with Ruth Hagestuen, RN, MA, and Gladys González-Ramos, Ph.D., the book Health Connect: A practical guide to community outreach. Elaine can be reached at: elainevc14@hotmail.com.