Greenwood Bill Calls for Statewide Plan to Introduce Parkinson’s Education and Awareness Program

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, is advancing legislation which directs the Department of Public Health to introduce an official program to promote Parkinson’s awareness and education in Illinois.

“Parkinson’s Disease is an aggressive illness which impacts an increasingly sizeable portion of our communities,” Greenwood said. “To better understand Parkinson’s and how it affects people and their families, I’m sponsoring a bill to raise public awareness on this disease.”

Greenwood’s House Bill 3247 would require the Director of the Department of Public Health to introduce the Parkinson’s Disease Public Awareness and Education Program. According to the bill, the program would include:

• The cause and nature of the disease;
• Diagnostic procedures and appropriate indications for their use;
• Lifestyle issues relating to how a person copes with Parkinson’s Disease (e.g. nutrition, diet, and physical exercise);
• Environmental safety and injury prevention; and
• The availability of Parkinson’s disease diagnostics and treatment services in the community.

“By raising public awareness on the symptoms of Parkinson’s, there may be an opportunity to make progress towards early detection and disease treatment options,” Greenwood said. “We should make every effort to help those living with this illness, and we should start with education and raising awareness.”