Parkinson's Awareness Month
by EDR Board Member Joel Sylvester
My father was diagnosed at a very young age at 40 years old with Parkinson’s. He still had the same knowledge, had the same passion, all of the same skills, just, his body wasn’t able to function in quite the same way.
Hello, everybody. My name is Joel Sylvester. I am on the Employment Disability Resources Board and have been for several years. I am one of the owners at Five Star Call Centers and have worked with a variety of different people with a variety of different disabilities over the last 25 years.
Parkinson’s is a disease where those afflicted – the dopamine receptors inside their brain have either been damaged or not working correctly, or the amount of dopamine that their body is creating isn’t working correctly.
Click the video below to hear Joel tell of his experience of family members, team members and more who have experienced Parkinson’s Disease.
Arthritis@Work
- 100% experience regular pain
- 2 in 3 experience depression, anxiety and/or fear
- 72% report arthritis pain disrupts work, including work from home
- 2x have double the number of missed workdays (63) annually.
For millions of working Americans with arthritis, everyday tasks like getting ready, sitting at a desk, typing, traveling and standing are debilitating. While many employees try to keep their arthritis hidden, it’s the second largest driver of health care costs, responsible for $304 billion in medical costs and lost earnings and 172 million missed workdays annually.
Arthritis@Work is a free Arthritis Foundation program that offers turnkey tools and resources to support your employees with arthritis as part of your existing corporate wellness program. Together, we will help you protect your bottom line by caring for the people who care about your business.
Arthritis@Work offers the following:
- Turnkey tolls and resources to support your employees with arthritis, regardless of location
- Support for managers to better understand and engage their employees with arthritis
- Access to content that fits into your current wellness programming and benefits all employees
- Support network, dedicated helpline and CDC-approved activity programs for employees
Employment Disability Resources is proud to offer the Disability Inclusion Partner program!
In partnership with the Sioux Falls Disability Awareness and Accessibility Review Board (DAARB), we give local businesses who employ one or more people with disabilities an award to acknowledge and celebrate their diverse, inclusive workplace culture. Watch for the “Disability Inclusion Partner” sticker on the doors of local businesses. Businesses that recently received a Disability Inclusion Partner sticker include:
- Trail Ridge Senior Living Community
- Kwik Star, 4300 E. 57th St.
Vicki Stewart, Executive Director
Employment Disability Resources
2900 W. 11th Street, Suite 101, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-215-1760 or [email protected]
