The Marilyn Hilton MS Achievement Center at UCLA is a collaborative program offered by the UCLA Department of Neurology and the Southern California Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Part of the Eric Small Centers for Optimal Living, the philosophy of the MS Achievement Center is that people with MS can be empowered to take control of their health and well-being with the help of educational and experiential programs. To this end, the Center programming is designed to provide wellness interventions that complement participants' medical management of their disease.
Whether you are newly diagnosed or have been living with MS for some time, we offer a program to help you achieve your wellness goals.
The REACH to Achieve program is designed for people who have been living with MS for some period of time, are facing one or more life challenges related to their MS symptoms including mobility, ability to cope, memory changes and deconditioning and who are ready to take control and make personal changes.
In a setting of shared support, REACH to Achieve provides tools and strategies for you to improve and/or maintain your functional independence. REACH focuses on four main areas:
Physical Wellness: Customized fitness programs with our expert staff help members to reach individual fitness goals. Group fitness activities like yoga and tai chi also help improve or maintain functional abilities and mobility.
Emotional Wellness: Through our art therapy, support groups, and one-on-one emotional health interventions, members learn to reduce stress and improve their emotional status.
Recreation Wellness: Members participate in music therapy, journaling, adaptive gardening, community programs and cognitive stimulation activities.
Health Education: Our in-house experts share information about disease management, symptom management, nutrition and general health practices to help members make optimal lifestyle and health decisions in conjunction with their personal physicians. Guest experts from UCLA and the greater community provide "lunch-and-learn" lectures on specialty topics throughout the year.
Program "members" come one day per week, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our program is offered on a sliding fee scale and is accessible to everyone.
To complete your program application and take the first step toward optimizing your health and wellness please finish the forms below: Part I Part II
To contact Center staff with additional questions, Please contact Stephanie Fisher:
ssfisher@mednet.ucla.edu
For those newly diagnosed with MS, the Living Well with MS program offers an integrative approach to wellness and MS that introduces participants to information, strategies, and tools they can use to develop a lifestyle program that optimizes their well-being. Over the course of the twelve week program participants will:
Develop a comprehensive personal fitness and nutrition program
Understand and better manage MS symptoms, including fatigue and stress
Develop emotional and spiritual health practices for living well with MS
Increase their ability to cope with the diagnosis and the unpredictability of MS
Meet others with MS and develop a support network
Living Well with MS sessions are held at the Center on Monday evenings in order to accommodate busy work and school schedules. The program is facilitated by Center health professionals as well as National MS Society staff, and delivers different program topics with targeted educational and experiential sessions such as Managing Stress, Understanding Fatigue, Complementary Alternative Therapies, Taking Control of Your Personal Health and Strategies for Sustained Success. Participants develop fitness practices to enhance strength, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance by engaging in a variety of educational and experiential physical health workshops, ranging from Exercise to Manage Stress to yoga sessions. Living Well with MS participants receive a comprehensive notebook of educational materials and handouts on a variety of exercise topics, MS education, nutrition and spirituality.
Click here to complete your program application and take the first step toward optimizing your health and wellness.
To contact Center staff with additional questions, Please contact Stephanie Fisher:
ssfisher@mednet.ucla.edu
"LEAP", our Lifestyle Education and Assessment Program, provides a comprehensive, one-time evaluation of neurologic and functional status. The goals of LEAP are to assess each individual's unique needs, identify areas for potential improvement and establish a plan for interventions that may be helpful to living optimally with MS. The program is designed to be accessible to residents of outlying areas, with all of the assessments taking place in a single half-day visit.
Patients receive a one-on-one consultation with each member of the Center's multidisciplinary team during the visit: our Neurologist, Clinical Nurse Specialist, physical and occupational therapists, Physical Activity Specialist, Recreation Therapist, dietician, speech and language pathologist, and a mental health practitioner. At the conclusion of the assessment, both the patient and his/her physician are provided with a comprehensive report based on MSAC experts' findings. Click here to contact Elise Herlihy, our Clinical Director/Clinical Nurse Specialist, to inquire further about LEAP
CogniFit is a multi-session interactive program that provides strategies and tools for dealing with common memory and cognitive challenges that can accompany MS. Topics addressed in CogniFitness sessions include focus and concentration, organization and memory, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Click here to inquire about our next CogniFitness program Other programs including spiritual wellness programs, wellness education classes, fall prevention seminars and professional education - are offered through the Center. Click here to learn more...
Do you have a passion for wellness and special skills to share?
Please contact Stacy Nonoguchi to inquire re: our volunteer opportunities.
Our Center is fully supported by donations and nominal program fees. Click here to find out how you can contribute to our efforts.
