In March, COVID-19 changed everything. Like others, we had to adjust the way we were operating, while finding ways to continue to deliver care to our ALS community in Texas. Because of your support, we have been able to work closely with Texans with ALS and their families to continue helping them navigate the disease and provide them with crucial resources.
Here’s an update on how your support has impacted Texans with ALS during this time.
Local Care
Our team works to provide resources and support to people with ALS and their families. Your support enabled us to continue this work, counseling newly diagnosed patients and helping Texans with ALS navigate the disease.
From February-July 2020:
938 People with ALS are Registered with Our Chapter
(compare to 887 at this time in 2019)
168 New Patients
(compare to 160 new patients during this same time in 2019)
1,065 Total Patients Served
(compare to 1,207 total in all of 2019)
Learn more about our Local Care Programs.
Equipment Loans
Our Equipment Loan Program provides crucial medical equipment to people with ALS, free of charge. COVID-19 impacted this program significantly, and due to safety concerns, we were unable to access and deliver much of our equipment in our loan closet. We were purchasing new equipment to continue to meet the needs of people with ALS, but saw our funding dwindle rapidly. We asked for your help, and through your support, we were able to get the funding needed to continue this vital program. Now, we’re working with our partners to deliver needed equipment in a safe manner, and ensuring people with ALS have the equipment needed to navigate their everyday lives.
From February to July, 2020:
243 Pieces of Equipment Loaned to People with ALS
If you are a person with ALS or caregiver who needs help with equipment, please contact us.
ALS Multidisciplinary Clinics
Many of our ALS Multidisciplinary Clinics had to cancel regular clinic days due to COVID-19. As time has progressed, each clinic has modified their operations to best serve the safety of their community. Some remain closed until is a vaccine in place, some are allowing individual visits, and some have put new safety measures in place to enable clinic days. We’ve been working closely with our clinic partners to help keep our ALS community safe and ensure our presence as a resource for Texans with ALS and their families.
We partner with 11 ALS clinics across the state of Texas. You can see the latest update about clinics here.
Staying Connected
Gathering in-person is not an option for our ALS community, as people with ALS are high-risk. To stay connected from afar, we moved all of our support groups to virtual groups, which have continued to meet monthly. In addition, we moved planned in-person educational presentations and workshops to virtual platforms and made them available statewide.
From March-August 2020:
80 Virtual Support Groups, Workshops, and Presentations
500+ People Engaged in Virtual Events
You can view our upcoming virtual events here, and watch recordings of past events.
New Family Programs
We’ve been closely listening to our ALS community to determine our impact and discover areas where additional resources are needed. Two big needs have emerged: greater support for caregivers and programs for youth and children. This year, we have started rolling out these programs virtually, despite the challenges of the pandemic. These include:
- Workshops for caregivers to help manage stress and tips for self-care
- Workshops for multiple age groups of youth and children to help them cope with the diagnosis and care of a loved one
- Bereavement support group
- Caregiver morning coffee support group
- Youth Leadership Council
Interested in learning more? Contact us.
Looking to the Future
In the face of the pandemic, because of your support, we were able to shift to virtual support groups, overcome challenges to get medical equipment to people with ALS, and create new programs to support caregivers and families.
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we can create a world without ALS.
Get Involved
Interested in helping us create a world without ALS? Join the Walk to Defeat ALS (at Home), start a fundraiser or donate today.
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[cta text=”Start a Fundraiser” link=”https://fundraising.alstexas.org”]
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