The Hoffman ALS Clinic Development Awards Program

The Hoffman ALS Clinic Development Awards Program is focused on supporting clinical programs that have, as their foundation, highly skilled experts dedicated to ALS and who drive innovation and quality improvement.

ALS Association Centers of ExcellenceTM and Recognized Treatment CentersTM are acknowledged as offering highly-specialized multidisciplinary care that provide measurably higher combinations of expertise and related resources focused on the ALS diagnosis delivered by a comprehensive, interdisciplinary team.  Research shows these centers have the ability to dramatically impact outcomes for patients across various communities and have shown this specialized ALS care can extend survival and improve patients’ quality of life by using proven clinical pathways to guide treatments, referrals, symptom management, and coordination of care.

Clinician and patient

The ALS Association’s Center Program was established in 1989. The strategic objective of the program is to design, implement, and monitor a national standard of best-practice care in the management of ALS. The primary goal of the designation process is to ensure that evidence-based care processes, that are closely linked to positive outcomes, are hard-wired into each individual’s clinic experience. The evidence-based guidelines are based on the American Academy of Neurology Practice Parameters and Quality Measures. 

The Hoffman ALS Clinic Development Program is established to provide support through two areas of clinic capacity development and expansion to include:

  1. The establishment of new ALS Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence and Recognized Treatment Centers to address underserved and unserved communities
  2. Uplifting existing affiliated clinics to the level of an ALS Association Certified Treatment Center of Excellence or Recognized Treatment Center

To establish a new ALS Certified Treatment Center of Excellence or Recognized Treatment Center, awardees will receive up to $900,000, spread out over 3 years, with payments being milestone based.

To evolve an existing clinic to an ALS Certified Treatment Center of Excellence or Recognized Treatment Center, awardees will receive up to $450,000, spread out over 3 years, with payments being milestone based.

Requests for Applications will be launched annually, with timing yet to be determined. Awardees will be notified of approved funding within six months of the Requests for Application launch. Part of the application process will include evaluating a prospective awardee’s responses to the following:

  • Established commitment of the provider to caring for people living with ALS
  • How the proposed clinic expansion will prioritize an underserved community as documented by a formal needs assessment utilizing current data
  • How many new patients will be served by the clinic expansion; number of established patients
  • What is the intended impact of the new or expanded model of care
  • How will impact and outcomes be measured
  • What are the collaborations, programs, and processes established to provide ongoing care coordination between provider appointments to achieve person-centric care
  • What are the barriers to patients being able to access and receive services
  • The plan for program sustainability past the initial funding phase
  • What ALS-specific research does this clinic participate in, if applying as a Certified Treatment Center.

The Requests for Applications process will entail the following:

  • Providers interested in developing a new clinic or elevating an existing clinic will submit a short letter of intent, around 1-2 pages, listing scope of the proposed clinic, proposed impact on those living with ALS currently unable to access care or are experiencing challenges accessing care, and how it aligns with the Association’s priorities.
  • Association staff will review letters of intent, selecting proposals that align with the original request for application.
  • Selected institutions will be invited to submit a full proposal, approximately 8-12 pages, that details the plan to increase utilization, outlines a patient-centric plan, clinic team, budget, and feasibility. Proposals will be peer reviewed by independent subject matter experts.
  • Selected proposals will be submitted to the Care Services Committee for review, discussion, and final approval, including funding amount.

Once approved for funding, the clinic award will advance into the grant management stage. Designated ALS Association staff will:

  • Notify the selected provider/institution
  • Develop, negotiate, and issue the contract that outlines milestones, expectations, and approved uses for the grant.
  • Monitor progress and issue grant payments once milestones are reached.

Grantees will be expected to adhere to the ALS Association’s grant awards terms and conditions. This includes:

  • Establish and maintain effective internal controls to ensure the grant award will be used in compliance with the stated requirements.
  • Agree to perform the project as proposed
  • Prudently manage the award provided and implement the project in accordance with the provisions of the grant
  • Any adjustments to the project where Association dollars are used must be approved by the Association prior to change

The application period for 2024 has closed.

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