Care Services
Whether you're a person living with ALS, a family member or friend of someone living with ALS, or a caring soul who wants to know more about the disease and what you can do to help, we're here to help. The ALS Association offers a full range of services to guide and assist you as you learn more about ALS.
These programs and services are available free of charge to people living with ALS and their families who are registered with The ALS Association. Register today and a Care Services Coordinator will be in touch to address your needs.
Our staff is always happy to answer any questions you might have. Please don't hesitate to Contact Us.
PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Care Services Coordinators
Our Care Services Coordinators are available to people living with ALS and their families, as well as the general public, to provide education, support and programming. The Coordinators are able to assist with navigating the health care system and finding specialized ALS care, connecting with Association and community agency programs, insurance and disability, advocacy & research issues, emotional support and coping- anything related to their ALS diagnosis. Care Services Coodinators are available via home visits, in the clinics that we partner with, or by telephone, email or virtual platforms.
Support Groups
The Association has dedicated support groups operating in different parts of Tennessee for people living with ALS and/or their Caregivers. These are wonderful opportunities for presentations from community professionals and to learn from the experiences of others living with ALS. Current Support Groups are being held virtually.
Monthly Patient Newsletter
This publication is sent to all of our patients statewide each month. The newsletter includes information about research, advocacy, programs, and facts for families living with ALS, as well as announcements from The ALS Association.
Equipment Program & Loan Closet
The ALS Association maintains an inventory of gently used durable medical equipment and assistive devices that can be loaned to registered members at no cost. We also have limited financial assistance available to our patients for the purchase of needed medical equipment.
If you are interested in donating equipment to our Equipment Loan Closet, please review the Equipment Loan Closet Program Guidelines and fill out an In Kind Donation Form to be given to the local Care Services team.
Communication Program
The ALS Association has working relationships with Speech & Language Pathologists and other professionals across the state who are available to assist with ongoing adjustments to communication devices. These professionals can also make recommendations for assistive devices to enhance communication. We also mantain a colletion of assistive communication devices in our Loan Closet.
General Grant Program
Eligible Tennesseans living with ALS can apply for a grant up to $1000 to reimburse them for various ALS related expenses, through the General Grant Program. This will provide assistance in areas that do not fit into the various program categories that we have previously offered. The program is a reimbursement program. Clients must submit an application and verification of diagnosis from their neurologist or clinic, and if approved, can submit paid receipts within 90 days for reimbursement. Please contact your Care Services Coordinator for questions.
Learn more about the General Grant Program and the products and services eligible for reimbursement here.
Care Connection
The Care Connection program is simple: it’s a network of volunteers from the community – friends, neighbors, members of community organizations like your church, or other service groups – that provide help for the person with living ALS and his or her family, and often give the caregiver a break from their day-to-day responsibilities. Click here to find more information.
Research
The ALS Association is the largest private funder of ALS research worldwide, and our efforts have led to some of the most promising and significant advances in the field. Everything we do supports our mission of finding treatments and a cure for ALS, which is why it's so critical to fund outstanding ALS research. Thanks to the donations raised during the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, we're now spending three times more on ALS Research than before summer 2014.
Advocacy
The ALS Association is at the forefront of public policy, working to improve the lives of people living with ALS and their caregivers. Our advocacy work focuses on educating and mobilizing all policymakers in a nonpartisan fashion to achieve the mission of The ALS Association: to discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest.
ALS Clinics
The ALS Association collaborates with ALS Clinics across the state to help ensure that people living with ALS have access to specialized care. Our Care Services Coordinators are happy to discuss the benefits of attending an ALS Clinic and help you locate one to best meet your needs.
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