Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness Announces Leadership Role
Angee Ludwa, PT, MPT Selected as Director of Programming
The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s has carefully selected a highly qualified expert in the treatment of Parkinson’s for a leadership role at its Center for Parkinson’s Wellness, opening later this year. Angee Ludwa, PT, MPT will lead a team of 30 certified trainers and 50 volunteers in her newly appointed role as Director of Programming.
As Director of Programming at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness, Angee will establish and lead all the movement-based programs following the InMotion ApproachTM, incorporating a variety of group classes such as yoga, stretching, boxing, dance, and strength conditioning exercises. Along with her team, Angee will ensure that the programming at the Center is of the highest quality and benefit to participants.
Angee earned her master’s degree in physical therapy from Oakland University and has over 28 years of professional experience in outpatient neurological care. In 2007, Angee directed her career focus towards the specialized care of individuals with Parkinson’s disease and, since then, has initiated and overseen the establishment of multiple Parkinson’s disease-specific programs within the metro Detroit area. Committed to community engagement, she has taught various community-based exercise classes including Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!) and Rock Steady Boxing for over 15 years. She recently stepped down from the role of Director of Exercise at the Michigan Parkinson Foundation and continues to collaborate with them and serves on their Professional Advisory Board.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Angee’s expertise join the staff at the Center for Parkinson’s Wellness,” said Steve Annear, Chief Executive Officer, The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s. “Under Angee’s leadership, individuals with Parkinson’s in the Detroit area will have access to the highest quality programming available.”
When the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness opens later this year, it will be the first of its kind in Michigan. The center, which will be located at 31440 Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills, will be a world-class facility where those impacted by Parkinson’s can access a range of activity-based programs, completely free of charge with no insurance required. The Center will provide a series of free programs, many of which were developed by InMotion, a Cleveland based leader in the provision of evidence-based programs tailored for people with Parkinson’s disease. Movement matters in the fight against Parkinson’s and through leveraging the InMotion ApproachTM, the Kirk Gibson Center will provide an integrated, holistic system of wellness programs designed to counteract the symptoms of the disease and to improve the quality of life of those people living with Parkinson’s disease here in Michigan. Offering approximately 70 hours of weekly programming with initial capacity to provide 60,000 visitor hours per year, the center will ultimately serve as a model for collaborative coalitions in support of people living with Parkinson’s.
For more information on The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness and to learn about opportunities to support its mission, please visit: KirkGibsonFoundation.org
