The MDA/ALS Center’s Multidisciplinary Team Offers Comprehensive Care
Once ALS is diagnosed, specialists and allied health care professionals in the MDA/ALS Center offer patients a wide range of services in a compassionate setting. Although it is impossible to erase the weakness, team members strive to maintain a patient’s muscle function and his or her ability to perform the daily activities of life. Clinics are held on one Friday per month, and patients are seen about every 4 months.
The University of Pittsburgh’s MDA/ALS Center specializes in promoting each patient’s quality of life. The goal of the MDA/ALS Center is to provide the most complete care possible by:
- Supporting the patient’s need for independence and helping them function successfully on their own and maximizing quality of life
- Allowing the patient to see a wide variety of specialists in one visit
- Continuing research efforts as they become available to find a cure for ALS.
The MDA/ALS Center’s Care-Giving Team
- Neurologists
- Neuromuscular nurse practitioner
- Physical therapist
- Occupational therapist
- Registered dietician
- Patient service coordinator
- Swallow therapist
- Speech therapist
- Social worker
Services available in the system but whose members do not attend clinic include:
- Pulmonary / Sleep Physician
- Surgeon for PEG placement
- Center for Assistive Technology: Wheelchairs, Augmentative Communication, Adaptive Technology. (http://www.cat.pitt.edu/)
- Swallow Center
- Palliative Care