The dilemma confronting long-term respiratory patients in general hospitals throughout Israel is significant. Generally, respiratory patients requiring long-term respiratory support have to be maintained on a respirator. General acute-care hospitals have serious difficulty in providing beds for such long-term care patients because they are dedicated to acute and intensive care. As a result of the expertise that the hospital staff developed, many of the patients who previously had been “given up” for “lost” by the medical services have been rehabilitated and weaned from the respirators, enabling them to return home or, at least, to “graduate” to a nursing department. Herzog’s Chronic Respiratory Care Division provides multi-disciplinary care for more than 250 adult and geriatric patients who are unable to breath on their own.
The patients represent a cross section of etiologies, ranging from acute events (such as anoxic brain damage) to slowly progressive diseases (such as ALS). Each patient has his or her own unique characteristics and issues, and family members are often affected by the patient’s condition. The Division’s staff comprises an interdisciplinary team of professionals – doctors, nurses, social workers, paramedical professionals, and psychological trauma therapists – who address the varied needs of the patient and the family.
Chronic respiratory care services at Herzog include specially equipped departments for adults, children and the elderly.
