Hemophilia Treatment Center Staffers Meet to Discuss Latest in Care

Horizons in Hemophilia, April 2013

By Karen Daniel, Marketing and Communications Director
Representatives from the Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs) in Georgia met with Hemophilia of Georgia staff for the annual State Comprehensive Care Meeting March 7-8, 2013 at Stone Mountain.  More than 50 physicians, nurses, social workers, and other HTC staff from Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah attended the two-day meeting.

Highlights of the program included an update on the latest Hepatitis C treatment from Dr. Rachel Friedman and a demonstration of cutting edge technology from Matt Jansen, Executive Director of the Georgia Partnership for Telehealth.  Following that presentation, a team from the Augusta HTC and an HoG outreach nurse and social worker explained how they recently used video conference technology to “see” a patient who was unable to travel to the HTC.

During the first afternoon, the physicians who serve on Hemophilia of Georgia’s Medical Advisory Committee held their annual face-to-face meeting along with HoG’s Director of Pharmacy, VP of Programs, and CEO.  While the Medical Advisory Committee was meeting, the other attendees had a lively discussion about bullying and its impact on teens and children who have bleeding disorders.

Hemophilia of Georgia Social Worker Christi Humphrey gave a detailed presentation on new approaches to pain management.  Hilary Cohen, a Social Worker at Emory, explained that depression and anxiety can be common in adults who have chronic illnesses and gave tips for evaluating people’s state of mind when they visit the HTC.  Nurse Betsy Koval from Emory gave an interesting presentation on the latest treatment options for nosebleeds.

The second day of the meeting wrapped up with case presentations by teams of physicians, nurses, and social workers.  During these presentations, the teams described unusual or difficult cases they had seen and asked the other attendees for suggestions and comments.