Services

Homecare for Active Living
Homecare aides and nurses provide independence and possibility for people living with ALS. Independence for people with ALS(PALS), in turn, enables their families to have a large measure of freedom and independence as well. That sense of independence is a critical part of facing ALS and life with confidence. The Carolinas Neuromuscular/ALS Center refers PALS in the Charlotte metro area to the Joe Martin ALS Foundation who have the greatest need for assistance.





                                                             Above: Neil Cottrell assisting George Exline with ROM therapy.

The Joe Martin ALS Foundation provides the following services:

1. Perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) : The most basic needs such as getting out of bed, dressing, and hygiene.

2. Exercise sessions: Exercise and flexibility training benefits paralyzed patients by improving blood circulation, reducing edema (swelling), averting contracture, and preventing blood clots. The Foundation provides tilt-table, MotoMed exercise bike, and range of motion (ROM) treatments for our patients. Tilt-table or “standing” treatments safely move patients into a standing position to improve range of motion in the hips, knees, ankles; facilitate systemic functions (bladder, digestive, respiratory, and circulatory) ; and to prevent the loss of bone density. The MotoMed is a motorized exercise bike that moves the patient’s arms and feet to increase circulation in the upper and lower extremities.

Above: Rusty McDonald and Gary Suddath using the Motomed.

3. Respite Care: Many PALS depend on their spouse as their sole care giver. Respite care provides care givers the opportunity to attend to their own needs such as a doctor’s appointment, grocery shopping, or a stress-relieving walk in the park and to take a break from the exhausting work of caregiving.

Tony Pierce using the motomed.

Above: Tony Pierce using the Motomed.

4. Technology for Active Living: Technological advances have greatly increased computer accessibility for people with disabilities. Assistive devices such as LCTech’s EyeGaze, ERICA, Mind Mouse, and Tracker2000 enable paralyzed patients to write letters or email, research, communicate with voice synthesizers, and even shop online. The Joe Martin ALS Foundation loans these accessible computers to PALS, and provides training and technical support. The foundation currently owns one of each of the assistive technologies listed above.

Jim DeJuneas using his "My Tobii" computer.

Above: Jim Dejuneas using his "My Tobii" computer.

5. Transportation: The increasing cost of accessible transportation prevents disabled patients from visiting friends, going to a movie, or even making doctor appointments. There are PALS who are unable to go to ALS clinics because they simply do not have the resources to get there. The foundation works in association with the Carolinas Neuromuscular/ALS Center to ensure that all ALS patients in the Charlotte metro area are able to attend the clinic and take PALS to places they need and want to go.

6. Home accessibility evaluation and planning: The Joe Martin ALS Foundation offers planning assistance with making homes wheelchair accessible. We also offer PALS and their care givers advice regarding mobility and safety issues.

7. Vacation and Trip Planning: Traveling with disabilities is challenging, but not impossible. The daunting task of planning a vacation that requires accessible lodging and transportation should not prevent one from continuing the tradition of an annual vacation or attending the family reunion. The foundation’s staff have planned and implemented countless trips for a paralyzed, ventilator and feeding tube-dependent patient to domestic locations as close as the local library and international destinations as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia.