WHO WE HELP

Those who have Parkinsons disease, their caregivers, family, friends, and other interested parties

HOW WE HELP

By providing education, resources and support for our Parkinsons community

WHAT WE DO

We fill a local need for new information on and solutions related to Parkinson's disease.

WHAT WE ARE

We provide non-biased, non-partisan support and education for those effected by Parkinsons disease.

About Us

Torrington Area Parkinsons Support Group

The Northwestern Connecticut Torrington Area Parkinson's Support Group welcomes people with Parkinson's disease and their care partners, their family and friends, and other interested parties to participate in monthly meetings at the Sullivan Senior Center at 88 East Albert Street in Torrington.

Join Our Monthly Meetings
Meetings run 10 AM to noon and include an educational component, business announcements, exercise for people with Parkison's (PWP) and a support group for care partners. ( check our calendar)

Meetings include speakers from health care professions and local support services organizations, as well as separate group sessions for both the caregiver and caretaker.

Zoom link for the meeting should you need to attend virtually.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85289322507?pwd=cGY0M3dzcGxlVnp2aDdhM240VXczQT09

Meeting ID: 852 8932 2507BR> Passcode: 464372

Events Calendar

Click Here For A Full List Of Our Activities 

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News

Meetings

 

We will meet tomorrow morning (1/26/24) at the senior center at 10:00 AM.  Dr. de Marcaida will be coming from the Vernon area to talk about the latest innovations and treatments for Parkinson's.  I've pasted her bio below and hope we will have a full house to show our appreciation for her taking the time to speak to us.

Betty Dillon hopes to attend as well.  The service last week for Jack was just so moving and memorable. It will be nice to see her again.
Steve DeWitte, who buoyed us up and spurred us onward when we first started TAPSG, also hopes to attend tomorrow's meeting. He does not allow his own challenges with Parkinson's to prevent him from advocating for all people with the disease.
And, of course, your presence is so important, not only for what you learn and the group camaraderie but for what you give each of us through your energy and sharing. We look forward to being with you tomorrow.
 

LINK FOR ZOOM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 873 2855 8247
Passcode: yeW5K2
I apologize in advance for messing up the zoom. Once the meeting begins, it's difficult to allow new people in, especially if the presenter is using my computer and I can't see who's waiting.  So, Zoomers, please try to be online around 9:50.  Just link in, then get your coffee and donut and be ready to listen at 10. 
Once again, would someone with functioning brain cells, please remind me to turn on Zoom.

I was completing a list of dates for this year's meetings to send to the senior center and thought you might like to have them, too,  Oddities in the schedule are explained by each date.
TAPSG MEETING DATES 2024

  • January 27 - Dr. de Marcaida HHC
  • February 24 - Dr. Dagostine HHC
  • March 23 - Dr. Conner UCONN and clinical trial presenters
  • April 27 - Colin Grabowski, Kyowa Kirin
  • May 18 (3rd Saturday)
  • June 22
  • July 20 (3rd Saturday; I'll be at a conference the fourth weekend)
  • August 24
  • SEPTEMBER 15 - Walk in the Woods for Parkinson's at White Memorial
  • October 26
  • November 23 (We'll go on the 4th Saturday this year because it's a long month, and Thanksgiving is not till the 28th.)
  • December 21 (3rd Saturday) 
How do you know, and what do you want to hear? If you have ideas for programs, or if you know of a good speaker, let me know. As you can see, I have to start early to line up our meeting programs. The center needs info about two months in advance to print it in the newsletter.

Bio - J. Antonelle de Marcaida, M.D.
J. Antonelle de Marcaida, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center of Hartford HealthCare and Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology. Under her leadership, the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center has grown from a single-center/single-doctor practice in Vernon, CT in November 2015, to the comprehensive fully integrated program that now exists in six locations all across the state and a team of ten of the most highly regarded Movement Disorders specialists in the region. She completed a two-year fellowship in Experimental Therapeutics and Movement Disorders at the University of Rochester under the mentorship of Drs. Ira Shoulson and Karl Kieburtz, and a one-year NIH-funded fellowship in Experimental Therapeutics and Neuro-AIDS. She did her neurology residency at the University of Connecticut and her medicine internship at New York Medical College-Metropolitan Hospital. She has been the Principal Investigator for over forty clinical trials for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders and has authored numerous publications and textbook chapters in the course of her career. She is also the Program Director of the Movement Disorders Fellowship Program of the University of Connecticut and Hartford HealthCare, encouraging a future generation of young physicians to develop the skills and passion for the field.
Dr. de Marcaida has a special interest in evaluating novel pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, including the role of naturopathic and Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in the management of PD and other movement disorders. She advocates strongly for a shift away from a single-minded focus on the management of disease, to a broader perspective on the importance of overall wellness and well-being as a better approach to care. She is passionate about caring for her patients from diagnosis to hospice and being a true partner in their journey through a life that she aspires will be no less full despite their neurologic diagnosis. She is also fervently involved in various initiatives addressing health inequity and racial injustice, at work and in her community.
 

Save the Date - Sunday Sept 17th, 2023

An annual Walk in the Woods, held at White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield is the group's main fundraiser, which supports the weekly exercise program. The group also contributes annually to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in hope of ridding the world of Parkinson's disease. 

Championing Parkinson’s Research!

Thank you for your dedication to Fox Insight. With over 20,000 participants, you are part of the largest Parkinson’s disease (PD) research study in the world! Every time you log in to Fox Insight and fill out surveys, you are providing doctors, researchers, and drug developers with information to better understand Parkinson’s from the true PD experts—patients and their families. 

Join Our Monthly Meetings

Meetings run 10 AM to noon and include an educational component, business announcements, exercise for people with Parkinson's (PWP) and a support group for care partners.
Meetings include speakers from health care professions and local support services organizations, as well as separate group sessions for both the caregiver and caretaker..

Did You Know?

  • Every 9 minutes an individual is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease
  • 1 in 10 people will have Parkinson's
  • There is no “definitive test” that can confirm Parkinson's disease, except after death
  • Parkinson's is not just your "grandparent's" disease or for "old" people
  • Currently there is "no cure" for Parkinson's
  • Medication can substitute for the missing dopamine, but it is only a temporary solution
  • There are 60,000 new cases of Parkinson's Disease a year
  • The total cost to the nation is estimated to exceed $6 Billion annually
  • Without more federal funding for research to find a cure for Parkinson's, the numbers of Parkinson patients will only increase each year

Free Exercise Program For Members

Exercise is the only thing known to slow disease progression. To that end, TAPSG offers an exercise program free of charge to members. A physician's referral and pre-screening by Hartford Health Care's PT staff is required before beginning the program.

Torrington Connecticut Area Parkinsons Support Group is sponsored by the Sullivan Senior Center, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and the Connecticut American Parkinsons Disease Association.

CAREGIVING

You are a caregiver if you Take care of someone who has a chronic illness or disease, Manage medications, talk to doctors and nurses on someone’s behalf. Bathe, dress, do household chores ...

PARKINSONS

is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It results from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain; the cause of cell-death is unknown.

EDUCATION

Is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual so that person is able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively to achieve self-selected goals ...

GROUP SUPPORT

A group of people who provide each other with moral support, information, and advice on problems relating to some shared characteristic or experience: a support group for Parkinsons Disease.

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