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2024 Year in Review

The year 2024 has been a year filled with exciting changes and great success for Hemophilia of Georgia (HoG) as we continue to focus on serving the bleeding disorder community. Hemophilia of Georgia has funded comprehensive care at five HTCs, two telehealth clinics, research, scholarships, advocacy, youth leadership training and provided global support. Throughout the year, HoG has hosted community fundraising events and educational events/programs for patients, clients, and their families. During these events, hundreds of people with bleeding disorders connected with each other from around the state and learned more about how to live fuller and more productive lives while living with a bleeding disorder.

In May, Hemophilia of Georgia was excited to announce the appointment of our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rob Maloney. Rob is an accomplished and visionary executive leader, who brings a wealth of experience to the organization as well as a proven track record of success in developing strategic initiatives to increase financial and operational performance. He has been very busy working to enhance operations and has been getting to know the special people in our community.

Hemophilia of Georgia is proud of our service and dedication to the bleeding disorder community and the many wonderful accomplishments made on their behalf in 2024:

1. Hemophilia of Georgia’s long-standing commitment to providing funding to help build a strong research community and advance care for the bleeding disorder community is demonstrated through our Hemophilia Clinical Scientist Development Grants. Since 2003, HoG has directly funded physician researchers to conduct translational research on hemophilia and its complications. Each grant is for seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00) per year, renewable for up to five years. This funding allows a physician who has completed research training to advance to the status of an independent investigator. Our goal is for the achievements of these scientists to improve the lives of people with bleeding disorders.
    
2. Advocates returned in person for HoG Day at the Capitol. The Georgia House and Senate issued respective resolutions to recognize and commend Hemophilia of Georgia (HoG)! Both resolutions recognize HoG staff and volunteers for our work on behalf of individuals with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders in Georgia, throughout our nation, and around the world.
    
3. Camp Wannaklot was held in our new location, Camp Twin Lakes Will-A-Way, in Winder, Georgia. It was an exciting time for all as we celebrated 31 years of Camp Wannaklot with a weeklong theme, “Blast Off to Wannaklot!” Approximately 91 campers joined us to have a wonderful time, experience new adventures, make new friends, overcome fears, and learn about their bleeding disorder
    
4. Hemophilia of Georgia awarded John W. Youtsey Memorial Scholarships to 23 Georgians in the bleeding disorder community totaling two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to be used for the 2025 academic year. John W. Youtsey, was a former professor and Associate Dean of the College of Health Sciences at Georgia State University. John provided leadership to Hemophilia of Georgia from its beginning in 1973, until his death in 1996. He was a board member of Hemophilia of Georgia and chaired the Scholarship Committee. Over the years, the John W. Youtsey Memorial Scholarship Program has awarded more than $1 million to deserving students to help them achieve their dreams.
    
5. Hemophilia of Georgia announced the release of the updated, online resource, The Hemophilia, von Willebrand Disease & Platelet Disorders Handbook, a comprehensive guide to living with a bleeding disorder.
    
6. Hemophilia of Georgia’s Donor Reception was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. At the event, we honored over 200 donors, stakeholders, and distinguished guests for all their support and dedication to helping us fulfill our mission. It was wonderful to see our amazing and steadfast supporters, dedicated board members, and staff come out in to be a part of what makes Hemophilia of Georgia such an impactful and meaningful organization: working to transform lives in the bleeding disorder community by providing excellence in comprehensive health care, education, advocacy, and the support of research.
    
7. Advocates for Hemophilia of Georgia once again joined the National Bleeding Disorder Foundation for 2024 Washington Days! HoG’s group of advocates met with their respective Representatives and Senators to help educate legislators and their staff on bleeding disorders. They also urged members of Congress to focus on language and legislation that will improve patient access to care including strengthening and broadening the use of telehealth.
    
8. Following the retirement of Leah Carpenter, our Vice President of Pharmacy Operations for 25 years, Resham Sahijram, was promoted and is now Hemophilia of Georgia’s new Vice President of Pharmacy Operations. Resham continues our commitment to providing high-quality, specialized services for the bleeding disorder community, including comprehensive care through MTM Pharmacists. Hemophilia of Georgia and Beacon pharmacies have maintained their specialty pharmacy accreditation from the URAC. URAC accreditation is the gold standard for specialty pharmacies and having it enables HoG to maintain dual-accreditation status, as we are also ACHC accredited. URAC is the independent leader in promoting health care quality by setting high standards for clinical practice, consumer protections, performance measurement, operations infrastructure, and risk management.
    
9. Hemophilia of Georgia (HoG) representatives attended the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Youth Leadership Training and Comprehensive Care Summit (CSS): New Developments in Bleeding Disorders and Musculoskeletal (MSK) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the event, youth leadership was a key strategic focus and HoG nominated four young adult clients to also attend the leadership training and participate in CSS.
    
10. The 2024 Teen Retreat was held at Jekyll Island, and 37 HoG teens and 21 volunteers/staff participated. One of the most memorable experiences was the time spent connecting with each other on Saturday evening during the beach walk and campfire. Throughout the weekend the teens participated in a guided, night beach walk, campfire under the stars complete with smores, a sandcastle building contest, basketball competitions, dinner at Lady and Son’s in Savannah, a trolley history tour through Savannah themed around the ghosts of the historic district, a visit to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center to see firsthand how they rehabilitate sea turtles, and other educational experiences.
     
11. In March, HoG held a golf fundraising event, Score Fore a Cure (formerly known as Tee Off), at Topgolf in Alpharetta!  It was an awesome night of games, drinks, food, prizes, and good times with friends. It was wonderful to see our community come out to support bleeding disorder research. With your support, we raised $35K to help fund Hemophilia of Georgia’s support of research. We could not have done it without all of you and look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
     
12. HoG held a Volunteer Appreciation Reception where we gathered to express gratitude and celebrate our outstanding volunteers. At the Volunteer Appreciation event, attendees enjoyed a wonderful afternoon filled with camaraderie, surrounded by loved ones, and treated to a delicious lunch and entertainment provided at Eclipse Di Luna.
     
13. The 2024 Trot to Clot raised over $102,000 for Camp Wannaklot and included 368 participants, 19 fundraising teams and 24 volunteers. The event took place at the Battery at Truist Park, and it was wonderful to see children and their families out enjoying the fresh air, music, and fun activities like face painting, bubbles, cornhole, and balloon twisting.
     
14. Hemophilia of Georgia held Spring Family Camp at Camp Twin Lakes Will-A-Way in Winder, Georgia. Twenty-eight families enjoyed a weekend of fun and educational activities and networking with other families affected by a bleeding disorder.
     
15. Hops for Hemophilia event raised more than $42K for research for a cure and there were 193 supporters participating in the event enjoying live music, games, great food, and hard cider.  
16. Fall Festival Family Day took place the weekend at Camp Southern Ground in Fayetteville, Georgia. HoG hosted 88 people from 21 families for a weekend filled with exciting, hands-on educational activities, crafts, pumpkin decorating, and hiking in beautiful fall weather.

This is just a small sampling of what HoG has accomplished on behalf of the bleeding disorder community this year as we continue to work towards providing excellence in comprehensive health care, education, advocacy, and the support of research.

It is wonderful and heartwarming to know that many lives have been touched and impacted by the programs and services HoG provides. We thank our partners, board, staff, and volunteers who make it all happen year after year. They bring their heart and passion to the work we do…and we extend our deepest gratitude for their commitment and dedication given throughout the year.