SFVA Support Group for People With Parkinson's Disease and Their Caregivers/Family Members

You are invited!

Please join us at our San Francisco Parkinson's Disease and Caregiver Support Group.

(No need to be a VA patient to attend. All persons with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers are welcome.)

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Normally the 3rd Tuesday of each month:

For questions please call 415-379-5530
San Francisco VA Movement Disorders Center

Support Group Coordinator:
Annie Li Wong, MSN, GNP-BC,
Movement Disorders Nurse Practitioner

Come learn about common medical and social issues in living with Parkinson's Disease.
Patients, caregivers, and family members are welcome to attend.

A series of short videos prepared by the VA PADRECCs addressing various aspects of Parkinson's Disease through the gracious sharing of individual Veteran's stories.

Go to My Parkinson's Story on YouTube

Parkinson's Disease and Military Exposures

SF offers an Advanced Care/Supportive Care Clinic for late Stage III-IV PD.

Late-stage PD patients often gain little to no benefit from medication adjustments. In fact, medications are more frequently withdrawn due to their side effects. The work of Gow and Carter from OHSU suggests that families often have feelings of abandonment for care and support in the final stages of care for patient with Parkinson's disease. With this in mind, the SFVA developed a new interdisciplinary clinic for advanced disease patients with the goal of improving the family's sense of support for this end-stage phase of disease. Specifically, quality of life interventions are the focus instead of curative interventions. The goal is to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and caregiver desperation. The staffing is based on a team approach and the two hour visits start with an intake of key issues solicited by either the nurses, a social worker or chaplain. Patient and family goals are explored and a plan of care is made together incorporating recommendations from all involved parties.

• Meetings: first Tuesdays 5:30p-7:00p
• Location: UCSF Weill, 1651 4th St., San Francisco in the Manetti Shrem Neurology Clinic conference room on the first floor. The entrance is on the left as you walk into the building (it's behind the security desk, the conference room in the back).
• Please RSVP to Monica Volz, NP at monica.volz@ucsf.edu
• To obtain a Zoom Link: contact monica.volz@ucsf.edu and the Zoom link will be emailed to you.

• For newly diagnosed PD patients (of less than 5-6 years) and their care partners.
• Meetings second Wednesdays via Zoom.
• Please RSVP to Susan Heath, RN at susan.heath@ucsf.edu to receive Zoom link.