Progressive Neuromuscular Disease Management Workshop receives Tony Proudfoot Public Awareness Award

April 29, 2011 - PRLog -- MARKHAM, ON, April 27, 2011 – The Progressive Neuromuscular Disease Management Workshop developed by Colleen O’Connell, MD, and Brenda MacAlpine, will receive the ALS Society of Canada’s Tony Proudfoot Exceptional Public Awareness Program Award (group category) in recognition of their contribution to the ALS community during an awards ceremony to be held at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Toronto, on April 30.

O’Connell, staff physiatrist and research chief, Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation in Fredericton, NB and MacAlpine, occupational therapist, developed and conducted a two and a half-hour workshop at nine locations across New Brunswick, which focused on evaluation and management of progressive neuromuscular diseases.

The free workshop was open to health-care professionals who work with individuals with diseases such as ALS, MS, muscular dystrophies and progressive ataxias. Many therapists felt this workshop to be eye-opening and ALS families felt that their understanding of the disease improved after attending the workshop.

“Not only did it [the workshop] present a strong focus on ALS – what it is, progression and prognosis, but it also provided a wealth of information on ‘treatment’ – incurable is not untreatable,” said Carol Cottrill, executive director, ALS Society of New Brunswick.

The Tony Proudfoot Exceptional Public Awareness Program Award recognizes an individual, a group or the media whose aim is to educate and increase awareness of ALS. Activities in the category may include liaisons with the media, co-ordinating public awareness displays and public speaking.  The award was renamed in March 2011 in memory of Tony Proudfoot.

ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. As the nerve cells die, people with ALS lose control of their muscles, which makes breathing, eating and even smiling almost impossible. Eighty per cent of those diagnosed will die within two to five years.

The ALS Society of Canada, founded in 1977, is the only national voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS and support for those living with ALS. The Society funds research towards a cure for ALS, supports provincial partners in the provision of quality care for those living with ALS, and provides information to build awareness about the disease. The vision of the ALS Society of Canada is to find a cure for ALS.

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For more information, please contact:

Carol Cottrill
Executive Director
ALS Society of New Brunswick
Tel: 506-532-5786
carol@alsnb.ca

Bobbi Greenberg
Director of Communications
ALS Society of Canada
Tel: 1-800-267-4257 ext. 208
bg@als.ca