$8m neurological centre opens
Simon Challies ran Ryman Healthcare while living with Parkinson’s disease. Now he has raised $6 million for a centre to help others with the neurological disease.
The BrainTree Wellness Centre in Christchurch is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It promotes lifestyle changes to help people live well with neurological conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke and multiple sclerosis.
Challies was diagnosed with Parkinson’s – a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement – in 2011 when he was 41. He stood down as managing director of Ryman in 2017.
The centre’s $8m total price tag has been almost entirely funded by private individuals, businesses, and community trusts, with more than $1m given in kind by consultants and contractors, a loan of $1m from the Ra¯ta¯ Foundation and less than $200,000 coming from local, regional or central government.
Peter Versloot, who has Parkinson’s and was one of the first people to use the facilities this week, said he would usually go to a gym class about once a week but planned to do so more often now because of the enticing new centre.
Dementia Canterbury chief executive Darral Campbell said the centre reinforced the view that people shouldn’t have second-rate facilities because they had a disability. ‘‘They should have nothing but the best. Disability of itself is quite debilitating.’’
The centre features a gym, yoga and dance studio, seminar rooms, a whole foods cafe and a meeting place. It has been designed to encourage people to live well with their conditions and adopt healthy lifestyle choices.
Challies’ own experience has been that if he follows the ‘‘four principles’’ – a healthy diet, regular exercise, keeping up social contact and getting good sleep – then he can live a better life with his condition.
‘‘I’ve learnt a lot about how to manage the condition well, and I’d like to share that with other people.’’
The number of Cantabrians with neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and dementia is expected to double by 2040, reaching 30,000 people – about the population of Timaru.