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ALS Clinic

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neuro- muscular disease that attacks motor neurons. This causes progressive paralysis which makes even the simplest movements such as walking, communicating, and eating impossible. Once the disease is diagnosed, specialists and health care professionals at Banner Good Samaritan's ALS Clinic offer patients comprehensive treatment in a compassionate setting.

In January 2005, the Banner Good Samaritan ALS Clinic was recognized as the 20th National Center of Excellence by the ALS Association. The objective of the ALS Center Program is to encourage and provide state-of-the-art care and clinical management of ALS.

Although it is impossible to erase the weakness and progressive muscle paralysis that accompany ALS, team members strive to maintain a patient's muscle function and his or her ability to perform the daily activities of life.

Physicians and staff at the Banner Good Samaritan ALS Clinic work to provide a multi-disciplinary clinic that brings together physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapists, dietitians, social workers, nursing staff and physicians in a single setting. This clinic focuses on ALS patients, their needs and the needs of their caregivers which change throughout the course of the disease. Although there is no specific treatment for ALS because its cause is unknown, specialists in the ALS Clinic are familiar with the disease's many manifestations.

Banner Good Samaritan’s ALS Clinic creates solutions to the many challenges people with ALS face. The ALS Clinic capitalizes on the interaction and cooperation among the physicians and health care professionals who are members of the patient's caregiving team. Further, the ALS Clinic works closely with the local ALS association to provide numerous at-home services, including respite care.

Banner Good Samaritan has a telemedicine clinic located on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff. Nearly 90 telemedicine clinics throughout Arizona allow patients with various travel limitations to be evaluated by specialty physicians at Banner Good Samaritan through a secure real-time closed-circuit television link without having to travel to the Phoenix area.

Physicians, therapists, dietitians, social workers and nurses at the Banner Good Samaritan ALS Clinic work together to assist patients and their caregivers with the everchanging demands of the disease. Staff members also work with local ALS groups to provide at-home services.