Professor George Jelinek developed the Overcoming MS Program, and founded the Neuroepidemiology Unit at the University of Melbourne's School of Population & Global Health, which continues to research the Program's benefits.
George Jelinek’s mother died in 1981 as a consequence of her MS. Towards the end of her life, she was totally incapacitated, unable to feed or care for herself. When George himself was diagnosed with MS in 1999, he was determined to prevent a similar fate.
Fortunately, George’s career as a Professor in Emergency Medicine and his background as Editor-in-Chief of a major medical journal gave him the tools to sort through the medical literature on MS, giving appropriate weight to the many pieces of evidence he found.
What he found startled him. The literature was full of answers. It became clear to George that remaining well after a diagnosis of MS is more than just a possibility.
He found that with commitment to the right lifestyle changes, there is the real probability that many people with MS can live long, healthy lives, relatively free of the usual problems associated with the illness.
Since 1999, George has adhered to the set of lifestyle recommendations he put together from the medical literature, which he later detailed in his book Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis. These lifestyle recommendations are now referred to as the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS) Program.
George began sharing his recommendations with others who had been diagnosed with MS by running retreats in Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, the UK, Ireland and Austria with Dr Sandra Neate, Dr Craig Hassed, Dr Keryn Taylor, Dr Sam Gartland, and others.
George has remained free of further relapses, as have many of the people who follow the OMS Program.
George Jelinek has held many positions during his career:
Australia’s first Professor of Emergency Medicine.
Past President of the Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine (ASEM) and past Vice President of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).
Founding Editor of the journal Emergency Medicine Australasia, a MEDLINE-indexed journal that he edited continuously for over 30 years.
Past Chief Editor in Neuroepidemiology at leading MEDLINE-indexed neurology journal, Frontiers in Neurology.
Recipient of the 2003 ACEM Medal, the highest individual honour in the specialty of Emergency Medicine in Australia and New Zealand.
Winner of the 2006 John Gilroy Potts Award and the 2012 and 2014 Edward Brentnall Awards for the best publications in Emergency Medicine and Public Health, respectively.
Western Australia Finalist for 2008 Australian of the Year, and Victoria Finalist for the 2016 Australian of the Year.
Founder of the Neuroepidemiology Unit (NEU) within the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at The University of Melbourne.
OTHER NOTABLE POSTS
A summary of the prizes and awards with which Professor George Jelinek has been awarded.
Casemix classification of patients attending hospital emergency departments in Perth, Western Australia. Development and evaluation of an urgency-based casemix information system for emergency departments. Doctor of Medicine thesis University of Western Australia 1995.