Charleston VA receives new national designation for Parkinson’s treatment

This new designation makes the Ralph H. Johnson VA a centralized hub for providing Parkinson’s and movement disorder resources for Veterans within the VISN 7 catchment area, a VA area of responsibility that includes part of the southeast United States.

“We will now be the referral center to help patients with a variety of movement disorders for the states of Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina,” said Dr. Vanessa Hinson, a movement disorder neurologist for the Ralph H. Johnson VA. “We will have a regional impact that can put resources to good use for Veterans in the area.”

With this designation the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System will receive specialized funding that will be used to directly provide Veterans with equipment, education, care, and treatment for any movement disorders they may be experiencing.

“We will be able to improve how Veterans with movement disorders receive care,” said Hinson. “This support will benefit not just the Ralph H. Johnson VA, but eight major VA health care systems.”

Hinson said one of the reasons the Ralph H. Johnson was awarded this designation is because of the specialized group of movement disorder neurologists that make up the care team.

“Many of our neurologists have taken an extra two years of training to focus on caring for patients with Parkinson’s or other movement disorders,” said Hinson. “Nationally, only about nine percent of people suffering from Parkinson’s are able to see a movement specialist, we think this needs to change and for our Veterans this is an opportunity to fix that.”

Hinson said those that suffer from Parkinson’s disease often require many different specialists to treat their symptoms. Some of these symptoms can include a stooped posture, low blood pressure, mental health and cognitive struggles, and even stomach problems; the new resources that are planned for vectoring Veterans towards better care will focus on interdisciplinary programs and connecting Veterans to specialists that can treat each one of these symptoms.

“It takes a variety of care providers to really provide comprehensive care to these Veterans,” said Hinson. “We currently can have eight different specialists assessing a single Veteran’s needs if they display all the symptoms. I believe we will be able to train other specialists all across the southeast to become cornerstones of Parkinson’s care just like we are.”

According to the VA Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder webpage, the VA invests in health care services to treat these disorders to include neurology and rehabilitative medicine, deep brain stimulation surgery, mental health support groups, and exercise and education programs. The goal of Regional Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Centers like the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is to make these services and the specialized care that comes with it more available to Veterans.

For more information on the services the VA offers to Veterans with movement disorders, go to: https://www.va.gov/minneapolis-health-care/programs/parkinsons-disease-…