After two years of unrelenting conflict, unprecedented casualties and an unyielding rehabilitation crisis, Israel has opened the first-ever School of Prosthetics and Orthotics at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran rehabilitation village in the Negev Desert to empower the country’s 20,000 amputees and pave the way for a new rehabilitative specialty in Israel.
Though the need for such programming has been critical for decades, the urgency became painfully clear to the physical and occupational therapists at the village’s Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center while treating dozens of the more than 2,000 war-wounded soldiers and civilians who have lost limbs since Oct. 7, 2023.
Working in partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and with funding from Israel’s Ministry of Health, the Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish National Fund-USA, the new school offers advanced academic training recognized by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. The first cohort is comprised of 12 students with bachelor’s degrees in physical and occupational therapy, among them one physical therapist and two Occupational Therapists already employed at the rehabilitation village. The students began their intensive training in November and now split their time between theoretical studies at Ben-Gurion University and practical instruction at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran’s prosthetics center.
“It’s a historic moment not just for our ADI family but the entire State of Israel,” said Dr. Itzhak Siev-Ner, director of the Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, the first and only fully dedicated rehabilitation hospital in southern Israel. “Despite the great need, Israel has never had any formal educational programming for Certified Prosthetists and Orthotists. But this school changes all of that.”
He reported that “the growing number of people who require prostheses across the country, coupled with the advancement of the science over the last few decades, including the use of top-tier materials and computerized technology, has led to an incredibly high demand for truly knowledgeable professionals. We are thrilled to be leading this charge and ensuring that Israel finally has the experts and resources required to meet this need.”
Internationally, working as a CPO requires four years of academic and clinical training, including a master’s degree and a residency program. Until now, however, no such offerings existed in Israel, and the majority of Israeli technicians currently working with prostheses learned their trade from mentors in the field rather than an accredited program. In fact, only five Israeli CPOs are internationally recognized, and all of them studied overseas. With the establishment of this Negev-based School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, ADI aims to reverse this trend.
To further upend the status quo, the rehabilitation village plans to open the first prosthetics and orthotics production center in southern Israel within the next year, creating homegrown resources and even more employment opportunities for the Negev population. Amputees rehabilitating at the Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center will be priority cases for the prosthetics developed at the center.
“I am excited to lead this CPO training program knowing that it will positively impact the quality of life for citizens in the Negev and across the country,” said Yael Dotan-Marom, the program’s academic director. “We are changing the face of Israel’s rehabilitative landscape. No longer will Israelis have to travel abroad for advanced prosthetic treatments. All of that expertise will now be local.”
Though monumental in its significance, the school’s opening was a bittersweet affair, as its clinical adviser, New Jersey native Carey Glass, passed away just one week before the launch.
‘We will carry his memory with us’
A beloved member of the Jewish community in Highland Park, N.J., Glass was also a legendary CPO with more than 47 years of experience in the field. He served as the director of clinical services for AlliedOP Inc., a network of 15 full-service prosthetics and orthotics service centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and lectured in New Jersey and across the United States for the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. Most impressively, Glass was named on two U.S. patents related to upper prosthetics and held a patent for orthotic tools.
From his decades of experience as a CPO and his professional network, Glass learned about the lack of CPO training in Israel and decided to take action to right that wrong. Two years ago, during a tour of ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, Siev-Ner and Glass discussed the feasibility of bringing international state-of-the-art practices and training to the Israeli prosthetics and orthotics profession.
On the spot, Glass committed to becoming a clinical adviser, instructor and practitioner for such a program.
“Carey cared deeply about Israel and wanted to help heal the many heroic soldiers and civilians who have been war-wounded. As we developed the program together, I got to know him very well. In addition to his extensive experience and exemplary professional skills, he was a kind, caring and humble person. The only gift better than his professional guidance as a CPO was his friendship,” stated Siev-Ner. “Carey was a visionary and a beautiful human being. His untimely passing is a huge loss for his family, for the family of CPOs worldwide and for anyone who had the privilege of knowing him. This program is part of his esteemed legacy. We will carry his memory with us always.”
Glass came to Israel toward the end of the summer, intending to stay for a year to guide the new cohort of students. Unfortunately, he fell ill soon thereafter and passed away in November.
“Carey told me that he came to Israel to improve the education and the prosthetic and orthotic care in Israel,” added Dotan-Marom. “It was his wish that ADI become a guiding light into the future of this science, with advances that would improve the lives and health of all people around the world. We are excited at the prospect of doing just that.”
By reimagining rehabilitation, ADI is advancing ability for all—empowering children, adolescents and adults with severe disabilities and pioneering cutting-edge therapeutic and recovery services for anyone touched by disability. Since Oct. 7, ADI has provided the individualized care needed to ensure the consistent growth and long-term mental health of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens.
To learn more about ADI and to donate, visit: adi-israel.org.
