Certified Centers Deliver Multidisciplinary Care

When people learn they have ALS, they want to get the best care possible from physicians and other healthcare professionals who are specialists in ALS. They want to find healthcare professionals committed to helping them maintain function and ensure them the highest possible quality of life.

That’s when The ALS Association’s Certified Centers Program can play a significant role in the lives of people with ALS. The ALS Association’s Certified Centers specialize in the management, care and support of people with ALS, expertise that makes it easier for people with the disease to cope successfully with ALS and live the highest quality of daily life.

The ALS Association’s Certified Centers provide multidisciplinary care at a single site, so that people with ALS and their families can see a wide range of experts at every visit. Rather than going from department to department or office to office over several days, patients receive well-organized consultations from a dedicated, centralized collaborative team representing the disciplines essential to their care.

The ALS Association Certified Centers are selected, supported and regularly evaluated by The ALS Association. Each Center is a distinguished regional institution recognized as the best in the field for research and experience with ALS. Each Center is led by a neurologist specializing in ALS, with the support of a professional staff that delivers physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, nursing, registered dietician services, psychology or psychiatry, speech and language pathology, and social work services.

ALS requires the expertise of many professionals. This is why the multidisciplinary team at The ALS Association Certified Centers is so crucial. Bringing these specialists together not only gives each patient the benefit of their breadth of expertise, but also fosters a team approach that is highly effective in solving problems and dealing comprehensively with issues that arise as the disease progresses.  The team provides people with ALS information to help them see around the curve to pre-empt problems and make decisions regarding their care and treatment.

Clinical research is an important part of each ALS Certified Center. Not only does the work make a huge contribution to the collective global knowledge about ALS, but it also frequently provides opportunities for people with ALS to personally participate in clinical trials.

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