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Substantial Matters: Life & Science of Parkinson’s


Jun 29, 2021

As most people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their care partners know, medication management is crucial to controlling motor symptoms. Given that many people need to take medication multiple times a day, “on time, every time” becomes a way of life, regardless of where one is – at home, at work, visiting with friends, shopping, or traveling. Ironically, one of the most difficult places to get medications on your individual schedule is in the hospital. Hospitals have set times to dispense medications, so a hospitalized person with Parkinson’s or their care partner needs to impress upon the staff that Parkinson’s medicines have to be given on the patient’s schedule, not on the hospital’s.

 

Rose Lang’s husband, John, fell and broke his hip, resulting in his transport to a local hospital and a several-hour period in the emergency department. Fortunately, he brought some of his pills with him and took them while waiting to be admitted to a room on a floor in the hospital. But even then, Rose, a retired pharmacist, had to educate the medical and nursing staff about the need for John’s “pills on time, every time.” She is also an Aware in Care Ambassador for the Parkinson’s Foundation, so John arrived at the hospital with his Aware in Care kit, and Rose made ample use of the resources within the kit to inform and educate the hospital staff caring for her husband.