Page 40 - BusinessWest February 17, 2021

science that, when you do vigorous exercise while living with Parkinson’s disease, your symptoms won’t progress as quickly, and sometimes they are halted for a while as well. We have seen people whose symptoms have regressed. The goal is for people not to progress, or progress slowly, but if we can reverse some of those symptoms, that’s a big win.”
Members are typically referred to Moir from their movement-disorder specialist, neurologist,
or physical therapist. “A lot of times, for our older members, it can be one of their kids who finds
us; their parent was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, they want to do anything they can to help, and they come across us online.”
Whatever the case, Moir and his team will meet with the individual and often a family member and
“Yes, we do exercise, but we also educate, and then we empower.
So we had to move the education online as well. Even though we couldn’t be in the space, we were able to su”pport them physically and mentally.
discuss symptoms, their story, and how DopaFit might help.
“We have about a 99% success rate of people who try it and stay,” he said. But getting in the door — or online, as the case may be in this challenging time — is only the beginning.
Chad Moir says membership was climbing steadily before the pandemic, and it has been a challenge to keep everyone engaged, whether in person or virtually, over the past year.
Recognizing a Need
Moir’s own beginnings in a career focused on this deadly disease was a half-marathon in New York City to raise some money for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. He ended up collecting about $6,000, and started to think about what else he could do for the Parkinson’s community.
While attending classes at American International College, he saw a need for a Parkinson’s exercise group in the area. “There is a
lack of Parkinson’s services in general. I really, truly believed that if I built it, they would come. That was our motto, and I stuck to that motto through the hard times, and it certainly has brought us here. We thought there was a need, and we’ve proven there was a need.”
He started working with individuals in their homes, then opened the first DopaFit gym in Feeding Hills in 2015. He moved to the Eastworks building in Easthampton a year later, and then
to the current location, at the Red Rock Plaza in
Commercial Real Estate Services, Worldwide
1350 Main Street Springfield, MA 01103 413-781-8000 | NAIPlotkin.com
Congratulations to this year’s
Difference Makers Honorees.
Thank you for making our community better.
PROPERTY & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | BROKERAGE SERVICES | CONSTRUCTION SERVICES | CONSULTING
40 FEBRUARY 17, 2021
DIFFERENCE
BusinessWest