A Richland man watched his wife die a difficult death. He’s making it better for others

When Pamela Foucault was diagnosed with ALS, the Tri-Cities didn’t have a clinic that specialized in treatment of the neurodegenerative disease.

So Pam and her husband, Dave, started traveling to Seattle for her care. When that got to be too much, they moved 1,500 miles away to be near a clinic full-time.

It was their best option, Dave Foucault said.

But now the Tri-Cities has a new option for families facing that tough diagnosis — one that’s a lot easier than commuting or relocating.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland has started a new ALS clinic in partnership with the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle. It debuted this week.

Dave Foucault lobbied hard to make it happen. He returned to the Tri-Cities after his wife’s death and started marshalling support.

“Pam really wanted to see things change,” he told the Herald. “She would be very proud.”

The program is modeled after the successful ALS clinic at the Swedish Cherry Hill campus in Seattle — and it even uses two of that program’s physicians.

Dr. Michael Elliott, chief of neurology and medical director, and Dr. Michele Arnold, who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, treat the Kadlec clinic patients remotely via telehealth technology.

A cross-section of Kadlec providers — including speech, occupational, physical and respiratory therapists, nurses and dieticians — are on site and make up the rest of the team.

It’s a proven approach.

“ALS patients who are cared for in a multidisciplinary clinic, where you have all these disciplines working in a coordinated way with one another — they do better,” Elliott said. “Studies show that they have better quality of life and they live longer. We know that multidisciplinary care is really the best way to care for people throughout all stages of the disease.”

Arnold added that the local clinic gives patients “the best of both worlds” — they can receive the specialized care without having to travel to an urban center.

Six patients are enrolled in the local clinic right now, with room for more.

When patients come in for visits, they meet in small group sessions with the entire team. They get help with equipment, they get their prescriptions, they get an updated treatment plan.

They also get a feeling of connection and hope.

“Part of (Providence St. Joseph Health’s) mission statement is, ‘Know me, care for me, ease my way,’” said Lisa Braudrick, clinic coordinator. “I think this clinic embodies that. It’s giving patients the tools and the hope that they need as they’re going through this journey.”

Swedish and Kadlec both are part of the Providence network.

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It’s progressive motor neuron disease that leads to loss of motor function. It doesn’t have a cure.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was perhaps the most famous person with ALS. He died in March, more than 50 years after his initial diagnosis.

His case was exceedingly rare. Most people with ALS die within five years of symptoms setting in.

The Tri-Cities lost one of its most beloved community leaders to the disease in 2016.

Ann Philip, who ran organizations from the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce to the March of Dimes, started noticing symptoms in the summer of 2014, not long after she’d coincidentally participated in the viral Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research. She was diagnosed the following January and died a year later.

Pam Foucault was diagnosed in 2013.

When traveling to Seattle for treatment became too difficult for her, she and Dave moved to back Duluth, Minn., where they grew up, to be near family and an ALS clinic there.

The clinic provided “huge peace of mind,” Dave Foucault said.

“The disease is so fast moving that you don’t have the chance to plan much. The clinic brings all the people you need together. After your clinic session, they plan out the next month or two or three. Equipment, prescriptions, all that — it’s planned out,” he said.

Pam died in April 2015.

She and Dave started dating as teenagers and were married for 38 years.

“We had a fantastic life,” said Dave, who is starting a term on the Kadlec Foundation board.

His work in project management took them across the country and overseas. Wherever they landed, Pam made the place home, her husband said.

She was a fun, strong person — a wonderful wife and a loving mother to their kids, Joselyn and Justin, Dave said.

He plans to volunteer at the clinic that he lobbied for her in honor. The program gives him renewed faith, he said.

“Out of these tragedies, sometimes good things can happen,” Dave Foucault said. “Her life and her journey will forever change things for people.”

To reach Kadlec’s ALS clinic, call 509-942-2990, ext. 5560.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 6:47 PM with the headline "A Richland man watched his wife die a difficult death. He’s making it better for others."