Your work is wonderful and reminds us everyday that we are not alone.

A recently diagnosed patient following first meeting with IsrA.L.S

 

For ALS victims the sense of isolation, the fear of fighting this debilitating battle on their own, is a source of perpetual anxiety. IsrA.L.S is working to ensure that no one is alone. Its goal is to accompany all patients and families through the physical and emotional challenges and across the bureaucratic hurdles and medical mazes they must endure. A resource for reliable information, expert guidance and steady encouragement, IsrA.L.S has become an essential element in the quest for quality of life.

 

Established in 2008, today the IsrA.L.S Patient Care and Support Department provides:

• Expert assessment and assistance to enable communication for all degrees of ALS infirmity
• ALS professional services including physical and occupational therapy and a palliative hotline
• Direct assistance in obtaining rights and benefits
• Initial family counseling including information guides designed for children, adolescents and parents
• Family weekend seminars, support groups and virtual forums

 

With hopes of realizing a more encompassing system of care, IsrA.L.S seeks to expand its supply of services to better meet the complex needs of ALS patients. Guided by the awareness that timely access to knowledge, early intervention and excellent treatment improves and extends life, IsrA.L.S is relentlessly fighting a multi-pronged battle.

 

With added funds, the ambitious IsrA.L.S program will include:

 

Expanded communication services

The inability to communicate through loss of speech is among the most devastating manifestation of ALS. But today, communication is possible even when paralysis is severe. Sophisticated equipment that enables effective communication, however, is expensive. While IsrA.L.S is able to subsidize the training of patients and caregivers in the use of communications devices, it is limited by current budget in its ability to provide adequate staff, fuller services and the equipment itself. With more resources, IsrA.L.S will guarantee that every ALS patient in Israel can be heard.

Immediate intervention among newly-diagnosed patients

IsrA.L.S is developing an intervention outreach campaign to target every new patient in Israel. The project consists of a social worker and palliative physician who visit during the first difficult weeks following diagnosis in order to prepare patients and families for the emotional and physical challenges to come.

Home-care for home-confined patients

IsrALS aspires to control and to minimize the possible escalation of trauma among ALS patients. The association has therefore developed a national support plan in partnership with the Ministry of Health. IsrA.L.S will inaugurate a countrywide network of social workers to provide quick and effective solutions for ALS-related concerns. The only obstacle to immediate implementation is the need to secure more funding.

Psychosocial support team

In hopes of minimizing the escalation of trauma for ALS patients, IsrA.L.S has developed a national support plan. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, IsrA.L.S will inaugurate a countrywide network of social workers to provide quick and effective solutions to ALS-related issues. The only impediment to immediate implementation is the need to secure funding for salaries.

Mapping for all sectors

IsrA.L.S will undertake a new campaign to bolster its outreach to the Arab, Ultra-Orthodox and other populations in Israel that may not currently be linked into the IsrA.L.S network. There are an estimated 300 patients still not identified and unable to benefit from IsrA.L.S services.

A state-of-the-art ALS facility

With new allocations, IsrA.L.S is hoping to build an ALS facility specializing in palliative care to benefit patients and their families at crucial junctures of the disease. This facility will serve patients recovering from surgery or suffering from clinical complications; offer family relief; and provide a caring hospice for patients during their final days.