Calendar Featuring Local Artists with Parkinson's Disease Offered at Local Hospital

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

New Brunswick - The New Jersey American Parkinson Disease Information and Referral Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have designed a 2005 calendar featuring local artists who have Parkinson's disease.

"Artistic expression has helped many Parkinson's disease patients cope with their condition," said Anette Nieves, MD, a neurologist specializing in movement disorders on staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "We decided to put together a calendar not only to display their creative talent, but to inspire others with chronic medical conditions to find their own way of dealing with a difficult situation."

Entitled "The Art of Living: Living Well With Parkinson's Disease," each month of the calendar portrays an artist's picture and brief biography, and highlights a piece of their artwork. Painting, drawing, photography, quilting and needlepoint are among the many talents of the artists featured.

Calendars will be available on November 29 for $10 each, but can be pre-ordered by calling the New Jersey American Parkinson Disease Information and Referral Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at (732) 745-7520.

The calendar was made possible through a grant from GlaxoSmithKline. Proceeds will benefit the UMDNJ James Parkinson Fund.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of three hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart and named by Solucient as one of America’s top 15 teaching hospitals, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ.

Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital was ranked number 26 in the nation for heart care according to U.S.News & World Report’s 2007 ranking of “America’s Best Hospitals,” as well as best in the state for Respiratory Disorders (#26) and Urology (#50), and among the nation’s best for Geriatrics (#40). The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.