The process of returning home is not a return to your previous life, but rather the beginning of a new one. Many steps are often necessary to adapt the home to the new situation. We recommend consulting with the department’s social worker about the process before returning home and even before receiving the discharge letter. Ask them how to make the home accessible and consult with them about your eligibility for rehabilitation equipment to facilitate your adaptation to the next stage of life.

• Tips and recommendations for suitable equipment for the home
• Assistance in obtaining rehabilitation equipment

Preparations for returning home after rehabilitation and hospitalisation

Strokes affect the functional and emotional state of each individual differently. We recommend consulting with the ward social worker from the very early stages of rehabilitation to ascertain your medical and economic rights in the community and ways to access them, to ensure you come prepared for this stage.

Important issues:

1. Towards the end of the rehabilitation process and before returning home and to the community, the interdisciplinary team will evaluate and summarise the results of the rehabilitation process, formulate recommendations for further treatment and guide the patient and their family on their new needs. A summary of the process will be documented in writing and a copy given to the family.
2. The discharge letter must include a medical summary detailing the patient’s medical condition, an assessment of the patient’s functional abilities, their ability to return to driving, and recommendations for further treatment and rehabilitation in the community, including a neuropsychological evaluation if necessary. For further information, see the “back to driving” page.
3. Receiving guidance on further medical treatment, rehabilitation, help at home, principles of returning to optimal function in the family and in society and adopting a healthy lifestyle.
4. Contacting the National Insurance Institute to check pension eligibility. We recommend contacting the ward’s social worker for help in filling out the relevant forms. Some hospitals have in-house representatives of the National Insurance Institute who you can contact. Families of the elderly can also speak to representatives of the “Segula” units. you can read more on the Ministry for Social Equality’s “Segula” units that in each hospital. To find out more, see the “General Disability and National Insurance Benefits” page.

For more information, see the General Disability and National Insurance Benefits page

1. Preparing to hire a caregiver / moving to an institution: an explicit reference to the level of supervision required, such as close supervision of patients or help for a set number of hours a day. We recommend starting the bureaucratic process as early as possible during the hospitalisation stage and not waiting for the return home. For further reading, see the “Employment of a Foreign Worker” page in the “Rights” section. Submitting an application for Ministry of Health coverage in funding a stay in the institution if necessary.

To read more, read the page Hiring a Foreign Worker in the Rights chapter

1. Adjusting the home and equipment: Make sure the house has been adapted to meet the patient’s needs. Sometimes you have to make various adjustments in the house, such as – expanding passages and entrances to the rooms so that a wheelchair can pass, replacing the bathtub with a shower stall, installing handles, etc. You can read more on the subject on the home preparation page, together with tips and recommendations for equipment adapted to the home.

You can read more on the home preparation page, and tips and recommendations for home-adapted equipment

1. Preparing and adapting assistive devices such as wheelchairs, bathing chairs, cranes, oxygen balloons etc. according to the recommendation of the medical staff. The equipment can usually be hired from organisations such as Yad Sarah or Ezer Mizion. If you need to purchase such equipment, you can ask the department’s social worker to refer you to request Ministry of Health coverage for the costs. You can read more on the page “Assistance in receiving rehabilitation equipment”.

You can read more on the Assistance in receiving rehabilitation equipment page

1. Guidelines for continued vocational rehabilitation and return to work and referral to an employment doctor. Back to work.

You can read more on the page on professional rehabilitation and employment rehabilitation

1. Issuing of authorisation for the guardian, if necessary. You can read more on the subject on the “Guardian and Power of Attorney” page.

You can read more on the subject on the Guardian and Power of Attorney page

If necessary, you can seek support from people in the community:

Health maintenance organization (HMO) social worker – for assistance with medication, emotional support and organisation at home and in the community.

Social worker – Welfare services in the community have various options for assistance including volunteer services for patients, assistance for their children, hot meals, assistance with shopping, social clubs and more.

About Assistance for Adapting the Home

People with limited mobility can receive assistance in adapting their flat and access to it. A joint committee of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Housing is responsible for improving housing conditions for people with limited mobility.

The purpose of the committee is to assist you in adapting your home and access to it following illness or injury to the motor system which requires special conditions.
Disability is determined by a recognised medical institution: HMO, hospital or rehabilitation framework.

The assistance is provided on a case-by-case basis as either a combination of grant and loan or as a loan only.

Residents of public housing are provided a full grant.

• Assistance of up to NIS 65,000 is provided for internal or external changes to the flat.
• Assistance of up to NIS 130,000 is provided for the purpose of installing a lift.

What Types of Adaptations are Provided?

The committee assists in financing the implementation of internal and external changes to the flat:

• Interior changes: adapting the interior of the flat for mobility in a wheelchair or any assistive device, such as walking frames, prostheses, etc.
• Exterior changes: adapting access to the applicant’s flat, such as installing driveway, a ramp, rails and lifts.
• Installation of a lift: for disabled people who are wheelchair bound.

Eligibility for Assistance

Assistance is provided to people who live in one of the following arrangements and satisfy the conditions of eligibility detailed below:

• Homeowners
• Key money flat
• A rented flat in public housing
• A home in a kibbutz or moshav
• A flat belonging to one of the following family members: son/daughter, father, mother, sibling, grandparent, grandchild

Additional Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible for assistance if your home and income are eligible, as stipulated in the Ministry of Construction and Housing’s assistance procedure and you meet one or more of the following conditions:

• Your mobility or function is restricted as a result of a stroke if you are wheelchair-bound or walk with prostheses, devices, crutches, etc. The degree of disability is determined by a recognised medical institution: hospital, HMO or government rehabilitation framework
• You have received assistance in this framework in the past, but your health has deteriorated, and it is necessary to adjust your place of residence following the recommendation of a rehabilitation worker
• The committee deems it necessary to change your place of residence following a change of workplace
• Assistance in installing a lift will be given for the house where you lived at the time you became wheelchair-bound, and only if this is the only solution for that home

For details of the conditions of eligibility in the Ministry of Construction and Housing procedure, click here.

Who is not Eligible for Assistance?

• Any individual who owns more than one apartment at the time of filing the application
• IDF disabled veterans recognised by the Ministry of Defense
• A work-injured person and victims of hostile acts, recognised by the National Insurance Institute
• Victims of road accidents
• Those who live in an apartment with a private monthly rental
• A person whose apartment was adapted before the application was submitted, unless their condition subsequently deteriorated
• In the case of a lift – no assistance will be provided to install a lift in a new apartment, if the applicant was confined to a wheelchair prior to moving to the new apartment
• A person who owns an apartment and requests that a relative’s apartment be adapted
• No assistance is provided for apartment expansion and works carried out independently

The Process

• Contact your family doctor. The doctor will send a referral to your HMO’s continuing treatment unit, which will arrange a home visit by an occupational therapist or a qualified rehabilitation worker. After the visit, you will receive the report of the occupational therapist at your request, by mail or email, or you can collect it in person.
• At this stage, you must contact a contractor to receive a quote for the required changes, in accordance with the occupational therapist’s report. In the case of a lift or elevator, it is mandatory to obtain two quotes. A building permit must be obtained where required by law.
•  You may submit the application via an online form, which can be accessed through the government identification system (an explanation of how to register in the system). Attach the required documents (listed below) to the form. Those who are unable to fill out the online form can contact a social worker at the health bureau and ask to be contacted. The occupational therapist’s plan must be attached to the application.
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• The inter-ministerial committee meets once a month and determines the amount and components of assistance (grant and loan or loan only).
• A certificate of eligibility is issued by the Ministry of Housing and forwarded to you.
• If you are found eligible, you will receive half of the amount to your bank account within 15 business days and the remainder after presenting confirmation from the occupational therapist that the renovation was carried out according to the specifications. If you require a loan, you must contact a mortgage bank and open a loan portfolio. Half of the loan will be released to you at the end of the process with the bank, and the other half following completion of the renovation and receipt of the occupational therapist’s confirmation that the renovation was carried out according to the specifications.
• After completing the adjustment work, a repeat home visit must be arranged with the occupational therapist to confirm that the work was carried out. The adaptation of the apartment must be completed within six months of initial approval.
• The social worker accompanies the applicants throughout the process.

Important notes

• It is important to note that the entire process — from the initial application to receiving the certificate of eligibility — is time consuming and depends on many factors and can take a long time.
• Residents of public housing must address their application directly to the Ministry of Housing. There is no need to provide proof of income. The recommendation report for the changes will be sent by the occupational therapist directly to the housing company. 
• In special cases that necessitate early implementation of the changes, contact the social worker at the health bureau before the changes begin. They will check and give their approval in coordination with the Ministry of Housing. The permission for implementation does not constitute a commitment to receiving the assistance.

Documents Required to Receive the Service

1. Assistance request form – can be filled out online or received from the social worker at the health bureau.
2. Functional medical form – a form completed and signed by the doctor and nurse at the medical institution where the applicant is being treated.
3. Occupational therapist report – recommendation of an occupational therapist together with the accessibility status plan before and after the change.
4. Price quote – a current and approved quote (up to three months) from an authorised contractor – in accordance with the occupational therapist’s report recommending changes. It is the responsibility of the applicant to contact the contractor. The quote must include price, dimensions, and quantities and must be signed by the occupational therapist. If the amount exceeds NIS 45,000, only offers from a contractor registered in the contractors’ register under article 131 may be submitted. If the requested renovation is for a lift, two quotes must be submitted from companies approved by the Standards Institute of Israel, and a certificate of full wheelchair confinement must be submitted.
   1. For the elderly – Ministry of Health confirmation of participation in the costs of purchasing a wheelchair.
   2. Those who are not elderly – the most recent mobility committee minutes attesting to wheelchair confinement and permanent mobility impairment of at least 80%.
5. Approval from the local authority or a building permit – in the case of a ramp, bridge, lift and elevator, a permit is required.
6. Copies of the ID card and appendix of all those living in the house. This is only required when social workers in the health bureaus fill out the form by hand. There is no need to submit copies of identity cards with an online form.
7. Proof of income – proof of income for the three months preceding the date of the request of all family members living in the flat, including: bank statements, stipends, salary/pension and any additional income. If the applicant lives in public housing or in a cooperative kibbutz, proof of income is not required.
8. Confirmation of rights to the home – a certificate from the Land Registry or a contract or a certificate from the local register or a photocopy of the payment of property taxes, including the bloc and plot numbers.
9. Homeless individuals – those seeking assistance in adapting the apartment of a first-degree relative must attach an undertaking according to which they will not be allowed to apply for eligibility for public housing for four years from the date of receiving the assistance.
10. Details of a bank account into which the assistance will be deposited.
11. Additional documents requested by the committee.

Related links (Hebrew)

• Ministry of Housing – Assistance in improving housing conditions for people with limited mobility (PDF document)
• Eligibility table (amount and composition of the assistance) –the Ministry of Housing website
• List of health bureaus