Edmond Family to Join Advocates at Parkinson's Policy Forum in D.C.

Advocates from Edmond, Okla. are heading to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. to speak to Congressional members and Representatives on Parkinson’s disease. (Provided/WikimediaCommons)
 
Eddie McCann and Caitlin Hinman of Edmond will join more than 300 other advocates in Washington, D.C. on March 19 to share the personal impact Parkinson’s disease has made in their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
The Parkinson’s Policy Forum is an annual event for people with Parkinson’s and their families, care partners and friends who are interested in public policy advocacy. Advocates from nearly all 50 states convene in Washington, D.C. for educational sessions, and meet face-to-face with their members of Congress and their staff.
“I am honored to attend the 2018 Parkinson’s Policy Forum to represent the Parkinson’s community on Capitol Hill on these important issues,” McCann said.  “I reach out to my Senators and Representatives year-round at town halls and local meetings, as well as through email and phone calls. But the chance to come together with hundreds of people like me, share our journey and show our nation’s leaders what it means to live with Parkinson’s disease is powerful.”
McCann and Hinman will meet with Sen. Jim Inhofe, Sen. James Lankford, Rep. Steve Russell, Rep. Frank Lucas and corresponding staff to talk about the need for federal funding for Parkinson’s research programs at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
Delegates plan to educate Congressional members on how federal funding and research for a cure and new policy can support those living with Parkinson’s. The 2018 Parkinson’s Policy Forum features two days of training and one day of advocacy and congressional outreach and education on Capitol Hill.
The forum is co-hosted by the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and is supported by nine other Parkinson’s awareness and advocacy organizations across the country.
Scientific and policy experts from the Parkinson’s Foundation and Micheal J. Fox Foundation are scheduled to present the latest developments in Parkinson’s research to attendees at the forum. In addition, panelists will highlight recent legislative action intended to increase access to health care services, including the elimination of the Medicare therapy cap, which advocates have worked several years to have removed.
For more information on the Parkinson’s Foundation, which strives to improve care for those with the disease and works to advance research for a cure, visit parkinson.org or call (800) 4PD-INFOR (473-4636).