The Power of Human Connection: Caregiver Peer Mentoring in Chronic Illness

In this presentation, Dr. Fleisher will focus on the lived experience of caregivers of people with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. Through an iterative process grounded in community-based participatory research, a caregiver peer mentoring program was piloted and is now poised for a national, randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institute on Aging. We will leave time to discuss human connection as a key driver for change. Jori Fleisher, MD, MSCE, FAAN is Associate Professor of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center. A movement disorders neurologist, she leads the Rush Advanced Interdisciplinary Movement Disorders Supportive Care (AIMS) Clinic, the CurePSP Center of Care, Rush Lewy Body Dementia Association Research Center of Excellence, and co-directs the Rush Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence. Dr. Fleisher has several studies underway focused on designing and implementing novel models of care and support for individuals and families living with advanced movement and neurodegenerative disorders. She is a graduate, advisor, and faculty member of the American Academy of Neurology's Palatucci Advocacy and Leadership Forum, mentor in the AAN's Women Leading Neurology program, and recipient of the CurePSP Standout Achievement Award and the Innovation and Inspiration to Cure Award.