Managing Changing Symptoms
Check-in and Resource Fair start at 9 a.m.
The program will be held from 10a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
After many years of good symptom management, Parkinson’s disease may become more challenging. Learn how Parkinson’s symptoms may change over time and new strategies available for managing them.
Agenda: TBD
This program is free. Lunch will be served.
Speakers
Jamie Toms, MD, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgeon
Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport
Jamie Toms, MD, comes back home to practice after completing his neurosurgical residency and functional neurosurgery fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. His current focus is the surgical treatment of epilepsy and movement disorders. He also treats brain tumors, neurological trauma and spinal disorders. He has extensive experience with frameless stereotactic procedures for intracranial placement of deep brain stimulators, lasers, and stereo-electroencephalography leads. He is currently involved in clinical and basic science research involving dementia, device development and substance use disorder. His clinic will be accepting patients for deep brain stimulation, epilepsy surgery, spinal surgery and all other general neurosurgery needs. Dr. Jamie Toms has spent most of his life in North Louisiana and has a strong calling for treating and caring for this community. He grew up in the small town of Quitman, Louisiana, and obtained a bachelor's degree in Animal Biology from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He obtained his medical doctorate from LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport and then traveled to Richmond, Virginia, for neurosurgery residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also completed a Fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery under the mentorship of Kathryn Holloway, MD. Following training, he decided to return home to North Louisiana to treat patients in the community that raised him. When Dr. Toms is not treating patients, he loves spending quality time with his wife, children, family and friends. He enjoys gardening, eating good food and getting to know people.
Julie Schwertfeger, PhD, DPT, MBA, CBIST, Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy
LSU Health Shreveport
Dr. Schwertfeger joined LSU Heath Shreveport in November 2024 in the School of Allied Health Profession in the clinical research track. She holds joint appointments in Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Toxicology, and Pharmacology.
Dr. Schwertfeger is a seasoned clinician and a neurologic clinical researcher who completed her PhD in 2020 and earned her neurologic board certification in June of 2022. Her PhD research, "A 3-day ‘stroke camp’ addressed chronic disease self-management elements and perceived stress of survivors of stroke and their caregivers reduced: Survey results from the 14 US camps", was published in Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation. Schwertfeger completed the advanced polytrauma/ TBI research postdoctoral fellowship in the VA with a focus on neuromodulation as an adjunct treatment for movement and cognition after brain injury and published "A map of evidence using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve cognition in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI). She has presented nationally on topics including balance and falls, stroke, TBI, neuromodulation, cognitive rehabilitation, measurement, and mixed methods research design.
Prior to completing her doctoral training, Schwertfeger won an NINR subaward and served as a site PI and a STRONG study investigator. STRONG is the acronym for the Stroke, Stress, Rehabilitation, and Genetics study, which investigated biomarkers that may better predict long term recovery over the course of one year after first time stroke. Dr. Schwertfeger attained brain injury specialization- trainer level certification in 2015. She served as a core faculty member in the PT program at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, where she directed and taught neurologic balance clinics, neuroscience, and neurologic clinical care, documentation, and reasoning to physical therapy, pharmacy, pathology, and medical assistant student cohorts. Prior to her academic role, Schwertfeger held full time roles as a clinical manager in IRF and LTAC. Her clinical experience includes leading patients, caregivers, and clinical teams through recovery from stroke, brain injury in the hyperacute through community reintegration stages of recovery. In her rehabilitation role, she participated in advancing stroke care through development of comprehensive stroke certification and leading a team through stroke rehabilitation disease specific rehabilitation.
Schwertfeger has been recognized for her leadership and service through awards from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Research Academy (APTR), the APTA Neurology Academy (ANPT), and the Illinois Physical Therapy Association (IPTA). Her professional service roles have included university senate and committees, PhD student mentoring, AHA CDA grant reviews, journal article reviews.
Contact Us
Taylor Kiernan
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