Philly Power Hour is a multidisciplinary exercise and wellness class provided by the team at Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy, a service of GSPP Rehabilitation.
Each week at Pennsylvania Hospital, the class is run by a different discipline, whether physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy, and then each class is connected to the overall monthly theme.
“I’ve been working here for over 30 years, and I specialize in the treatment of individuals with Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders,” said physical therapist Heather Cianci. “I really love working with this population of patients.”
More needed to be done than just one-on-one sessions, because living with Parkinson’s disease is not just about the exercise and the mobility. It’s also about having your peers around you, having someone to talk to who understands what you’re going through, having that companionship and socialization. Many of the members have formed friendships and get together before or after class, which has been a great way to promote socialization and activity levels.
“We found a grant through the Parkinson’s Foundation, and we created a different type of exercise and wellness class, which is different than a lot of stuff that’s offered for individuals with Parkinson’s disease,” said physical therapist Casey Hasenbein.
There are a lot of exercise classes, but there are not a lot of community-based exercise and wellness. Cianci and Hasenbien pride themselves on not being boring with their patients. They look for things that are creative, exciting and might be a little outside of the box. By creating movement patterns and putting them together, the team enables class members to have a good time and move at the same time.
Group members have told class organizers that “this feels like my community. This class has helped me just manage my disease so much.”