Carey Glass of Highland Park, an active member of the Jewish community, drew on his decades of experience as a certified prosthetist and orthotist, and his network of professional colleagues, when he visited Israel in the summer of 2024 to assess the state of his profession in the country (see Jewish Link coverage of his trip: https://bit.ly/3TfI7yc).
As Glass described recently, he and his colleagues learned two things from that trip and prior trips, which explains why so many IDF soldiers are sent to the United States for prosthetic care:
- Prosthetists in Israel do not have extensive, advanced degree-level training equivalent to that in the United States.
- The system in Israel is small and centered around basic facilities that have not been updated in 20 years.
Glass determined that the prosthetics/orthotics field in Israel definitely needs an upgrade in professional training, and decided to redirect his career to lead that change.
Working with colleagues in the ADI Negev Rehabilitation Center and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and with the support of the Israeli Ministries of Education and Health, Glass is helping to develop the first program in Israel where students can earn a master’s degree to become a physical therapist/certified prosthetist-orthotist (PT/CPO).
Glass will serve as clinical adviser, instructor and practitioner in the new academic program, which will bring international state-of-the-art practices and training to the Israeli prosthetics and orthotics field. The two-year program aims to graduate 15 students each year, and will start with its first class of students in mid-October of this year.
Glass plans to relocate to Israel in July to oversee the development of the academic program and completion of laboratory facilities.
As he shared with The Jewish Link, he is passionate about this work, as it allows him “to support the courageous individuals who have faced serious, life-changing challenges due to the horrors of October 7th and the war that ensued.” He is deeply committed to “create a better future for our soldiers who have risked everything to protect the Jewish homeland as well as civilians who have endured unimaginable physical and mental distress.”
In tandem with his work to shape the new academic program, Glass is coordinating a fundraising campaign to enable the ADI Negev Rehabilitation Center to fully support the new venture. He invites donations to ADI Negev Rehabilitation Center, which can be made via credit card at adi-il.org/donate-rehab; please indicate that the funds should go to the PT/CPO program (under ‘Additional Information’). Donations can also be made by bank transfer, over the phone, or by check. All donations to ADI Israel are tax deductible.
For more information on the new academic program or the fundraising campaign, which seeks to raise $150,000 in initial funding, please send email to Carey Glass at caglass21@gmail.com
Harry Glazer is the Middlesex County editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at harryglazer615@gmail.com and he welcomes constructive criticism, unalloyed praise, and story suggestions.
