Memorial Sickle Cell Day Hospital, the Only Facility of Its Kind in Florida, Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
Request for Clinical Trial Participants
The Sickle Cell Day Hospital participates in clinical trials to test new methods to treat the disease. Presently, a trial to test sustained release morphine is underway. The goal is to reduce the amount of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) needed to control pain, as well as to reduce hospital stays and at-home medication use.
Participants should be 15 or older. Those who choose to participate in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available and help others by contributing to medical research.
If you are interested in participating in this trial or would like more information, call
(954) 265-6945.
September 2004 — "We have an idea that can help bring relief to people with sickle cell disease. And no one else is doing this in Florida." From this vision, a new model for the management of acute and chronic sickle cell syndromes was created at Memorial Healthcare System.
Memorial Sickle Cell Day Hospital
On May 19, 2003, Memorial Healthcare System opened the Sickle Cell Day Hospital on the campus of Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. It became the first – and only – facility in Florida dedicated exclusively to the treatment of sickle cell disease in patients 16 and older. Over the past year, Lanetta Thorpe, MD, MPH, Director of Sickle Cell Services at Memorial Regional Hospital, has seen impressive results. "We started with 19 patients and now have 86. Of the 780 visits we have had since we opened, 93 percent have resulted in discharge home after treatment, which we can attribute directly to timely and aggressive pain management," says Dr. Thorpe.
A major goal for many sickle cell patients is to avoid hospitalization. “The Day Hospital gives them a way to avoid the Emergency Department and lengthy stays in the hospital, and it helps them get out of their crisis pain quickly. This really helps their quality of life," says Mark Lewis, MD, Chief of Oncological Services at Memorial Regional Hospital, who was part of the design team for the Day Hospital. “We recommend that patients come to us when they are in pre-crisis, before they experience complications like unresolved pain, fever or atypical symptoms,” says Dr. Thorpe. “Overall, only 17 percent of our patients are hospitalized compared to 83 percent of non-Day Hospital patients."
New patients are welcome must be referred by their primary care physicians, who will transfer medical records to the Day Hospital. In addition, a sickle cell prep test and hemoglobin electophoresis are administered to determine the type of sickle cell disease and treatment required. "The most appropriate treatment for the patient can be identified and the use of multiple, overlapping therapies can be avoided. Patients are able to receive their treatment in the same place with the same protocol, and treatment is given by a single medical team at all times," says Roberto Cano, MD, Medical Director of the Sickle Cell Day Hospital.
Dr. Thorpe adds, “The Day Hospital staff is able to provide a quality of care that many patients have not experienced since they were children. One of our newest patients hugged the nurses and thanked us all for the wonderful care after her first visit. And the Memorial Regional Hospital staff always alerts us when one of our patients has been admitted so we can stop in to visit with them.”
Psychological Support
Along with the specialized care patients receive at the Sickle Cell Day Hospital, they also have access to a psychiatrist and a monthly support group. “The psychological component of this disease is not always addressed by patients or their primary care physicians,” says Dr. Thorpe. “They may have become dependent on their family to make their care decisions, they may be unmotivated to take control of their own health or they may be unsure of how to become productive adults. Our monthly support group meetings, led by Lillian Boone, MD, psychiatrist on the medical staff at Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, are a great place for patients to connect and help each other.” In addition, Dr. Boone has dedicated a day each month to meet with patients one on one.
"This is a great way to approach patients with sickle cell disease. In addition to standardizing their care, it also offers a great scenario for aggressive pain control and psychosocial support," says Luis Salcedo, MD, Director of Pediatric Anesthesia at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and the creator of the pain protocols used by the Day Hospital. “Sickle cell disease affects every aspect of a person’s life, but it doesn’t have to keep that person from living a productive and happy life,” says Dr. Thorpe. “We see patients who have full-time jobs, patients who have children, and six of our patients have become volunteers for the Day Hospital. By becoming proactive in their own care, and not allowing themselves to be swallowed in a sea of pain and suffering, our patients can raise their quality of life. We are so fortunate to be a part of their care and their lives.”
The History of the Day Hospital
The vision of a Sickle Cell Day Hospital began when Dr. Thorpe realized Memorial Healthcare System already had the resources at hand to benefit adult sickle cell patients. “I found that the care for children is continuous because parents and pediatricians work to keep it so,” says Dr. Thorpe. “Teens and adults need the same continuum of care to help them avoid hospitalization, as well as to manage and control the pain that comes with sickle cell disease. We were already doing this, just not in a dedicated center.”
Dr. Thorpe worked with Robert Glasser, MD, hematologist/oncologist on the medical staff at Memorial Regional Hospital, Memorial Hospital West and Memorial Hospital Pembroke, to create a blueprint for a treatment center. When the plan was presented to the Executive Board of Memorial Healthcare System and the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners, it was met with immediate and full agreement, and the Sickle Cell Day Hospital became a successful reality. “This was Memorial Healthcare System at its best,” says Dr. Thorpe. “They simply said it was ‘the right thing to do.’”
For additional information or to set an appointment, call the Sickle Cell Day Hospital at Memorial Regional Hospital, Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm at (954) 265-6945. Assistance is available in English, Spanish, Creole and French. For assistance after hours, please call (954) 986-6338.