Medical services for persons with intellectual disability in Israel

The first school for children with intellectual disability (ID) was opened in Tel Aviv in 1929; the first boarding school for children with ID was established in Jerusalem in 1931; and the first center for assessment of children with ID established in Tel Aviv in 1936. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, there was a total of four residential care centers providing services for 150 children with ID.

This paper will describe the history and development of the public health work with persons with intellectual disability from the birth of the State of Israel in 1948 until today, with a focus on medical and nursing care and ideas for future work with this population.

Studies and documents from the Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Israel.

The Division for Mental Retardation is in contact with approximately 23,000 persons of all ages. Residential care is provided to about 6,000 persons in 54 institutions countrywide. In addition, 2,000 persons receive residential care in hostels or protected apartments within the community. More than 50 other settings provide vocational and educational services to 15,000 persons--day-care kindergartens, day-treatment centers, sheltered workshops, or integrated care within the community.

Data on the health profile, morbidity, and mortality of the residents in residential care centers are used to illustrate the medical and nursing work with this population.

We recommend that the direction in Israel should be a combination of both community and institutional care for the population of persons with ID. We recommend the establishment of a subspecialty for physicians and nurses in intellectual disability and the establishment of a Health Division within the Ministry of Social Affairs to facilitate better service, education, and research.