Doctor reaches out to find residences for multiple sclerosis patients
http://www.thetimesonline.com/index.pl/article?id=771246
Posted Saturday, November 10, 2001
As a neurologist, Dr. Mridula Prasad
works primarily with multiple sclerosis patients.
Besides helping to treat their disease,
she also finds living units or small homes for people who suffer from severe
disabilities.
Prasad, 52, of Munster, is founder/medical
director of People Helping People, an organization in Munster that began
in 1997. The goal is to place people in a home atmosphere as opposed to
a nursing home, giving them a chance to feel independent and try to live
a normal life.
"I believe that people need to be
with people as a way of feeling better. The emotional support each patient
receives from one another is tremendous,'' Prasad said. "A home gives them
(patients) a light at the end of the tunnel, where in a nursing home the
feeling is the end of the road.''
Multiple sclerosis patients are like
anyone else in that they have energetic brains and high energy levels,
but they often are confined to beds or wheelchairs because of their disabilities.
When the body slows down, so does the mind, Prasad said.
Prasad, a native of India, has been
in America since 1976. She completed her second residency at Loyola University
Medical Center in Chicago, where she worked with multiple sclerosis patients.
"Dr. Prasad is a very caring doctor,
and is very dedicated to her patients,'' said Mike Sullivan, board member
of People Helping People.
"It's just remarkable all the time
and energy and financial support she gives her patients.''
Prasad's patients cannot live on
their own, or otherwise with their families. And most patients are entitled
to home health care through insurance.
Independence is seen as a key to
better health. The homes have phones, TVs and everyone plans his or her
own menu.
People Helping People has four homes
throughout Northwest Indiana. Two to three people reside in a home.
The first home was financially backed
by Prasad. The Methodist Hospitals donated another home as did The First
United Methodist Church of Valparaiso. A fourth home will open within a
month.
"I always look for a home that needs
to be renovated, and that can be turned into a home for people with disabilities,''
Prasad said. Multiple sclerosis often strikes people in their 50s. The
patients have good cognitive behavior as opposed to patients with Alzheimer's
disease, Prasad said.
"All I really want to accomplish
is to someday go ahead with bigger projects by getting more homes and enlist
other people to help and become involved,'' Prasad said. "I want to provide
a strong support system in the community.''
©2001 copyright TheTimesOnline.com
BY MARK WILOWS Times Correspondent