Rehabilitation and Day Rehabilitation Department

Children suffering from both congenital conditions such as muscle diseases or abnormalities of limbs and acquired conditions such as damage to the spinal cord, burns,  eating disorders or continence problems etc. are hospitalized in ALYN's Rehabilitation Department where they receive intensive rehabilitation. Some children are admitted to ALYN following a period of hospitalization in a general hospital and some are admitted for rehabilitation straight from home.

All the multidisciplinary therapies are under one roof and ALYN's skilled, multidisciplinary staff apply a holistic approach to rehabilitation.  The staff includes physicians who are specialists in various fields, nurses, physiotherapists, hydrotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, social workers, psychologists, neuropsychologists, medical clowns and a team of special education teachers who work within the Department.

The focus is on each individual patient and the challenging rehabilitation process which the child has to learn to cope with as they are going through it. Every patient's family plays a vital role in their child's rehabilitation process.

The rehabilitation process focuses on helping the child to function independently to the best of their abilities in order that they will be able to return to their families and the community.

Independent functioning includes eating, dressing and personal hygiene and additional activities which require a higher level of functioning such as communication, independent mobility both inside and outside the home, studies and cognitive tasks.

Each patient's personalized rehabilitation program is designed to help them make progress in achieving the highest possible level of independence – each according to their ability – in their functioning at home and at school thus allowing them to resume their place in the community.

Every child who is hospitalized in the Rehabilitation Department works according to a personalized rehabilitation program which is tailored to their individual requirements and which is constantly adjusted according to the patient's progress.  The program, which defines the patient's rehabilitation goals, includes structured treatments with the multidisciplinary therapists and exercises for the patient to practice with the help of a parent or whoever is accompanying the patient. 

Rehabilitation treatment and activities in the Department are planned around the clock: therapy sessions and exercises take place from the early hours of the morning and finish around 16:00. During those hours the children also continue their studies in the classrooms which are located within the Department.   

During the afternoon hours a variety of social activities are organized including arts and crafts, music, singing and games, which are suited to the various rehabilitation goals of the patients.  The activities are organized by counselors together with volunteers from the community. In the evening  there  are family activities and during the patients' rest time the medical and nursing teams receive coaching and training.  

Day Hospitalization Department

Rehabilitation in the Day Hospitalization Department is either a continuation of full hospitalization in order to achieve already defined rehabilitation goals or an initial rehabilitation program planned to achieve specific rehabilitation goals following an accident or some "event" which has caused a deterioration in function.

The therapies are given by a multidisciplinary team who work together and with the families of the patients. The number of therapies is fixed according to the needs and intensity of the treatments required and the patient may come to ALYN either one day a week or more – up to a total of 5 days a week.

The Rehabilitation Department and the Day Rehabilitation Department are directed by Dr. Emmanuel Kornitzer, a pediatrician who is a graduate of the Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem.