AlphaCare Regional Day in cooperation with Alpha1 Germany and the SHG Region Trier

Wolfgang Schneider, as appeared in Alpha1 Journal 1/2026.

Our second patient day took place on May 9th at the Park Plaza Hotel in Trier's city center with 17 participants (affected individuals and their relatives). After welcoming the participants and our speaker, Daniela Donath-Post from Grifols and Wolfgang Schneider, group leader of the Trier region self-help group, moderated the event. Our speaker was Sophia von Verschuer, a specialist lawyer in employment law, who gave a very interesting presentation. She specializes in severe disability in the workplace, discrimination, and protection against dismissal.

Your topics 

• Welcome and brief introduction to the topic
• Why people with (severe) disabilities are afforded special legal protection in working life
• Focus on protective rights: protection against discrimination, employment adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, participation of the representative body for severely disabled employees, additional leave and special protection against dismissal.
• Rights and claims you can enforce

Following this, pulmonologist Dr. Martin Lübke from Trier joined us for an exchange of experiences. It is important to us to have an experienced pulmonologist present, and once again, several questions were clarified before we all said our goodbyes after lunch. Our Alpha1 self-help group – Trier region – is open to anyone interested, and of course, to those affected (whether lung, liver, or other specific conditions) and their families. We are thinking of the greater Trier area, the Eifel region, the Palatinate, the Hunsrück region – essentially a large part of Rhineland-Palatinate – as well as Saarland and southern North Rhine-Westphalia. Our goal is to organize regular meetings and expand the range of topics discussed. We welcome growth in the group. Another meeting is planned for Saturday, October 17, 2026, in Trier.