Caregiver Teleconnection

Jo Rosen
After her mother, then five years later, her future husband Alan were diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Jo Rosen began by seeking out experts and people that had been through similar experiences. She wanted to know what living with Parkinson’s meant for each of them. Jo began the journey by reaching out to all the major Parkinson’s Organizations. She found that fundraising is what they wanted because of her background owning a financial management firm. She also found these organizations were not equipped to recommend support groups for caregivers, alternatives to traditional medical care, or coping with a future facing chronic illness. She began searching for experts in life planning - financial planning - medical care - memory retention - and self-care. The week after her wedding in 1990, Jo decided that her efforts in organizing a major Parkinson’s organization’s symposium at UCLA, were not going to provide solutions to their needs. She felt that if this was missing for her, then it was likely that thousands of others were facing the same challenge. So, she started what is now the 501(c)(3), Parkinson’s Resource Organization (PRO). Jo has been on a 30-year mission to work so that no one is isolated because of Parkinson’s. Every resource in PRO’s network helps emotionally support and provide education to families affected by Parkinson’s, even if the family is made of one.