SMU Nursing Partnership with PD Active Shapes a Holistic Model for Treating Parkinson’s Disease
Samuel Merritt University has established a partnership with PD Active, a non-profit organization that serves people with Parkinson’s Disease in Berkeley, Oakland, and the East Bay, to improve nursing care for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and movement disorders.
This partnership enhances interdisciplinary training across specialties at SMU, building on a longstanding relationship with the University’s Physical Therapy program, which has offered pro bono movement clinics through PD Active for 10-plus years.
SMU alumna Lynda Dailey, BSN ’94, and her husband Paul Hathaway, FNP, brought forward the idea to connect the SMU College of Nursing with PD Active in order to strengthen nursing education that centers around Parkinson’s care.
When describing their goals for the partnership, Mr. Hathaway explains that “Parkinson’s patients have routines and prescriptions for preserving movement that need to be considered even when they are in hospital care. Unfortunately, we have seen the problems that can arise when these routines are missed."
By focusing financial support on a PD Active partnership with a nursing college, Mr. Hathaway wishes to "provide opportunities for SMU nursing students to specialize in the treatment of patients with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders and to help improve patient outcomes. My wife Lyn and I were both nurses and we saw the importance of equipping nurses with advanced knowledge to provide this needed care.”
Support for Nursing Curriculum and an Endowed Student Scholarship
Nurses are often a primary point of contact for patients, and it is no exception for those living with Parkinson’s. This novel collaboration will provide educational exposure to movement disorders, related medication, fall prevention, and patient support to empower future nurses to improve care. Students will learn via speaker series, panels, and more opportunities as programming is enhanced to support healthy aging in this patient population.
Carmen Ward-Sullivan, Program Director for SMU’s Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing, confirmed, “This collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to enhance nursing education through specialized learning experiences focused on Parkinson’s disease. We are proud to offer our students access to resources and expertise that will enhance their clinical knowledge and empower them to improve outcomes for patients and families.”
As part of their gift, PD Active and Paul Hathaway have established a neurological curriculum fund, which supports SMU to incorporate community expertise into programmatic training for nursing students. Beginning in fall 2026, an endowed scholarship will also be available to advanced practice nursing students who wish to specialize in treating patients with movement disorders and geriatric Parkinson’s Disease with a focus on healthy aging.
Engaging with Community Expertise to Improve Complex Care
By collaborating with a local organization’s expertise in Parkinson’s Disease, SMU and PD Active have built a model for how other schools across the country can use community expertise to help shape nursing neurological training and improve care for patients with complex chronic conditions.
Todd Morrish, Board President, PD Active, explains: “Paul Hathaway brought an idea to the PD Active Board that we embraced – the opportunity to transform nursing care for patients with Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. More than 100,000 Californians are living with Parkinson’s, and diagnoses continue to rise as the U.S. population ages. We are proud to partner with Samuel Merritt University, an esteemed, award-winning health sciences university, to create a new model for nursing education.”
Together, PD Active and SMU aim to close the gap in care while setting an example for what other schools and community resource groups can do to help those living with Parkinson’s across the country. Suzanne Calpestri, PD Active Board Member, commented, “PD Active is really pleased to be working with SMU to establish a scalable approach to prepare the next generation of nurses for the realities of an aging U.S. population.”
