Sickle Cell Day Hospital Opens at Memorial Regional Hospital
May 2003 — Memorial Healthcare System's Sickle Cell Day Hospital — the first facility in Florida dedicated exclusively to treating this painful blood disorder in patients age 16 and older — opened Monday, May 19, 2003, at Memorial Regional Hospital.
"This facility is very significant for the region's sickle cell patients," says Robert Glasser, MD, Director for the Sickle Cell Day Hospital. "Currently, patients who have a pain episode have to go to an emergency room, where they may have to wait and where personnel may not know exactly how to properly address each individual's situation. At the Sickle Cell Day Hospital, the staff knows exactly how to treat a patient who is having a pain crisis."
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited, chronic disease that occurs when the normally disc-shaped red blood cells become shaped like a sickle or crescent. Functioning abnormally, they cause small blood clots and intense pain in the bones throughout the body. Crises can occur once every few years or several times a year. Over time, damage to the kidney, lungs, eyes, bones and central nervous system can result.
More than 70,000 Americans have sickle cell anemia, which is most common in ethnic groups. One in 400 African-Americans and one in 1,000 Hispanic-Americans are born with sickle cell anemia. In South Florida it is estimated that 4,000 individuals have characteristics of sickle cell disease.
Affiliated with the National Sickle Cell Disease Association, the Sickle Cell Day Hospital at Memorial Regional Hospital has a staff that includes a nurse practitioner trained in the latest pain-management treatments.
"We are highly specialized in what we do," says Lanetta Thorpe, MD, Program Coordinator for the Sickle Cell Day Hospital. "We know the most recent developments in research, pain management and long-term care of sickle cell patients."
Other benefits of the program include:
- Immediate treatment and pain management (typically within four hours)
- 24 hour phone contact with nurse
- Comprehensive care, including behavioral health
- Chronic pain support group
- Disease management program
- Pneumonia vaccination
- Lab work
- Blood transfusions
To receive treatment, a patient must be registered with the Sickle Cell Day Hospital. The facility serves patients 16 and older having an uncomplicated pain episode. The center does not treat patients who have breathing problems, infections, a temperature of more than 101, a traumatic physical injury or who are pregnant.
To register, you must be diagnosed by a hematologist and bring your medical records on your first visit (including name, address, telephone and fax number of your physician). You do not need an appointment to register.
The Sickle Cell Day Hospital is located at Memorial Regional Hospital, 5th Floor East, at 3501 Johnson Street, Hollywood. The hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. For more information or to speak to a staff member, please call the Memorial Sickle Cell Disease Information Line at (954) 265-6945. Information is available in English, Spanish, French and Creole.