COVID-19 Pandemic: A Message from the MDS President

Dear MDS Members,

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads across the globe, we recognize the importance of our roles as healthcare providers, particularly to our elderly patients who are at a high risk of experiencing severe symptoms, with increased mortality, due to their age and likely comorbidities. In the same way that you are committed to your patients, clinics, and communities, we remain committed to providing you with resources that will help you navigate this difficult period.

As a healthcare provider who treats people with Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, you are undoubtedly aware of the increased complications of COVID-19 in the elderly. The MDS Scientific Issues Committee has created a statement on this evolving issue and gathered together pertinent references for our members. We will continue to update this website with references and relevant information for our membership as the situation continues to evolve.

For your elderly Parkinson and Movement Disorder patients, we suggest you consider :

• sending your patients home if they are in-patients and not in the hospital because of an emergency
• avoiding outpatient visits to the hospital
• advising your elderly patients to stay home with their partners and to avoid any physical social contacts in the next weeks
   

All MDS events and programs, through May, have been cancelled or postponed and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. We will continue to take a proactive stance in measures to limit the spread of coronavirus through canceling or postponing future educational events, which is a challenging but essential decision. Please continue to watch the website closely for additional updates. In the meanwhile, we look forward to providing you with online education, tools and resources. As always, we are happy to facilite virtual education events and encourage you to consider hosting a Virtual Professor Program to continue to provide and receive MDS education locally.

As the situation evolves, I will continue to keep you updated about all MDS related activities. I genuinely hope that you are yourselves well and can continue to provide top-quality care to your patients.

Kind Regards,

Claudia Trenkwalder
MDS President