The RMS Family Foundation has continued its support of the Fixel Institute through the Dr. Randy Schilsky Movement Disorders Fellowship Grant with a second $100,000 gift, bringing its total giving to $200,000 and helping support Jerry “Dan” Fenn, M.D., Ph.D., during his second year of fellowship training. Generous contributions like these help create a transformative learning environment for fellows while ultimately creating a lasting impact on the patients they serve.
The RMS Family Foundation was founded by Randy Schilsky, D.C., a health care executive who was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease in his early thirties. While receiving care from the Fixel Institute, Schilsky achieved significant symptomatic improvements in both physical symptoms and his emotional well-being. The care Schilsky describes as “concierge-like” gave him hope for the future. It also inspired him to make sure others would have the same opportunity to receive the exceptional care that made such a difference in his Parkinson’s journey.
As the number of people living with Parkinson’s continues to grow, so does the need for highly trained movement disorder specialists. Through his support of movement disorders fellowships, Schilsky hopes to help train physicians who will help move Parkinson’s research and care forward.
That vision is already taking shape through physicians like Fenn, who is entering his second year of the Fixel Institute’s Movement Disorders Fellowship. His first year was a time of exploration, gathering data, generating new ideas and identifying the questions he felt were most important to pursue. Now, he is looking forward to building on that foundation and sharing his work with others. Support from the RMS Family Foundation is helping make that possible by providing dedicated time for Fenn to develop his work and prepare it for presentation at conferences and publication in academic journals.
“These aren’t small things,” Fenn said. “They are the difference between a good training institution and a transformative one.”
One of the main areas of interest Fenn has developed during his fellowship is deep brain stimulation (DBS). This surgical treatment uses an implanted device to deliver electrical signals to specific areas of the brain involved in movement. For many patients with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, DBS can provide significant relief from disabling symptoms.
This passion has been supported by the RMS Family Foundation, which has provided Fenn with protected time in the operating room to learn from some of Fixel’s leading experts in DBS.
“Their generosity reflects a genuine belief in the next generation of movement disorders specialists, and that investment will have a lasting impact,” Fenn said. “Not just on me, but on every patient I go on to care for throughout my career.”
For Schilsky, supporting fellows like Fenn is also an investment in the research that could ultimately change the course of diseases like Parkinson’s.
“With research comes the opportunity to accelerate the trajectory toward what ultimately matters most: disease modification,” Schilsky said. “Every advancement that moves us closer to slowing, altering or ultimately changing the course of Parkinson’s disease creates hope for a brighter future, not only for those living with Parkinson’s today, but also for the generations that will face this disease in the years to come.”
Through continued support of fellowship training and research, the RMS Family Foundation hopes to help more physicians pursue the questions that could lead to tomorrow’s breakthroughs. For Schilsky, the goal is simple: better outcomes, better treatments and a better quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
If you’re interested in supporting the continued advancement of training, research and patient care at the Fixel Institute, consider making a gift today.