About the Center

Founded in 2019, the Klein Family Parkinson’s Rehabilitation Center at Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation combines the efforts taking place at Jefferson and the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute to integrate research with innovative rehabilitative therapies that support patients’ quality of life and keep people with Parkinson’s active in their daily lives.

The Center’s goals include:

• Serving as a leader in Parkinson’s disease research and therapy
• Becoming a resource for patients and families who are seeking better, more effective options for improving independence and quality of life
• Driving new knowledge to inform a continuous refinement of Parkinson’s disease treatments and interventions
• Creating opportunities for patients across the continuum of care to participate in leading-edge clinically relevant studies
• Advancing scientific and clinical knowledge that will help patients locally, regionally and internationally

Klein Family Parkinson’s Rehabilitation Center Clinic

The Center offers a multidisciplinary clinic to bring together a team of clinicians typically involved in the care of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, including an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Speech Language Pathologist, Physician, and Social Worker. Together, this team evaluates individuals using a collaborative approach to coordinate care and address goals that might otherwise be challenging to recognize or achieve by one clinical discipline alone. The team not only makes recommendations regarding current symptoms, but also serves as an informational resource for both patients and their family/caregivers. The knowledge provided by the team is intended to help individuals navigate the course of these progressive conditions, by knowing what to expect and how to anticipate and prepare for any new impairments or decline in function that may occur.

The multidisciplinary clinic additionally supports the partnership between the clinical and scientific worlds. As part of that goal, a representative from the research community is present to discuss ongoing and future research opportunities available to patients.

Individuals interested in participating in the clinic can contact Sky Yallof at (856) 431-3805 or KleinParkinsonsClinic@jefferson.edu.

Promoting Evidence-Based Care

To improve the quality of care for patients with Parkinson’s disease, the Center tracks treatments and outcomes longitudinally across patients seen at Jefferson Health. This effort seeks to detect and anticipate future needs across a range of cognitive and movement domains so that they may be addressed sooner. We aim to improve the ability of our clinicians and therapists to provide evidence-based care for our patients by promoting greater individualized treatment approaches that are based on each patient’s specific needs.

Increasing Patient Research Opportunities

To increase opportunities for patients to engage in ongoing research activities at Jefferson, and to promote greater research activity in the area of Parkinson’s disease, the Center is developing a Parkinson’s disease Research Registry in conjunction with the existing MRRI Research Registry. The Registry allows researchers to identify individuals who are interested in volunteering for ongoing or future research programs. Participants in the Center’s Research Registry effort may include patients at Jefferson with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease or a related diagnosis, as well as family, friends, and other interested members of the community.

All information in the Registry is kept confidential following federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines. Research projects accessing the Research Registry are conducted with Institutional Review Board oversight to maintain the highest standard of research ethics.

Clinical-Research Integration Awards

Faculty, voluntary medical or professional staff, or an allied professional of Einstein Healthcare Network who are interested in pursuing research projects or clinical programs aimed at improving the lives of patients with Parkinson’s Disease and their caregivers have the opportunity to apply for grant rewards of up to $20,000 from the Center. 

Learn more about the Clinical-Research Integration Awards.

People

Scientific Director

Aaron Wong, PhD
Institute Scientist
Director of the Cognitive-Motor Learning Laboratory
Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute

Clinical Director

Tariq Rajnarine, MD
Attending Physician
Jefferson

Center Members

Michele Aguado, PT
Stephanie Tornquist, PT, DPT, NCS
Davis Berzins, OT
Pippa Siguenza, MS, CCC, SLP
Claire Sitarz, MSW, CBIS
Sky Yallof
Jacob Koffer, MD

Research Registry Recruiters

Mitchell DeCasere
F: 215-663-6297

Contact

You can reach the Center at KleinParkinsonsClinic@jefferson.edu.

About the Klein Family

The Klein Family Parkinson’s Rehabilitation Center at Jefferson was made possible by generous gifts from the Klein family. For more than a half century, the Klein family name has been synonymous with advancing research and innovation throughout Einstein Healthcare Network.  Five generations of Kleins have been involved with Einstein, serving as executive leaders, board members, volunteers, ambassadors, philanthropists, and avid supporters.