New U.T. facility for Parkinson's

Published: 5/25/2013 - Updated: 4 minutes ago NEW FACILITY OFFERS HOPE FOR PARKINSONS PATIENTS

BY LORENZO LIGATO BLADE STAFF WRITER

Vicki Bolinger was only 47 years old when she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002. A retired nurse, she underwent a series of medications and treatments in clinics scattered across Ohio before arriving at the Gardner-McMaster Parkinson Center on the University of Toledo Health Science campus.

It was at the center, she said, that she found a "wonderful, dedicated staff and rooms twice as big."

Ms. Bolinger, 58, of Marion, Ohio, is one some 1,300 patients who will receive treatment at the new Gardner-McMaster Parkinson Center.

Characteristics of Parkinsons disease include shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the brain disorder affects about 500,000 people in the United States. The average age of onset is 60 years. The disease was first described in 1817 by James Parkinson, a British doctor.

The nearly 6,000-square-foot center was inaugurated on Apr. 26 after a major six-month renovation project that turned the old medical facility into one of the leading Parkinson's centers in the nation, said Dr. Lawrence Elmer, a professor of neurology at the University of Toledo and medical director of the Parkinsons Center at the former Medical College of Ohio.

When he arrived in Toledo as an assistant professor in July, 1998, Dr. Elmer said the city lacked a center dedicated to the treatment of movement disorders. Four years ago, Dr. Elmer partnered with the Parkinson's Foundation of Northwest Ohio to organize a fund-raising dinner for a new Parkinson clinic in the old Medical Pavilion of the University of Toledo.

The event exceeded all of Dr. Elmer's expectations: The dinner raised more than $120,000 to help offset the approximate $1.35 million in renovation costs. The renovation was largely financed by private donors, including the family of Findlay businessman Philip Gardner and the Harold and Helen McMaster Foundation, in recognition of which the Parkinson Center has been named.

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New U.T. facility for Parkinson's