What We Do

I stepped into the world of patient advocacy in 2019, and have supported the Sickle Cell community primarily through video education and Facebook support groups. 

In the past year, I created an online medical advocacy training (MAT) program where we train motivated volunteers over a twelve-week period to become certified medical advocates. These advocates accompany Sickle Cell patients into the hospital, virtually, during an acute Sickle Cell crisis, and support them by bridging the gap that often exists between doctors and these patients. The advocates are taught the protocols for acute management of Sickle Cell disease directly from the National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) guidelines, and evidence-based practices published by well known Sickle Cell experts.

Once the advocates complete their in-class learning, they are HIPAA certified and then trained on how to initiate contact and communicate with the ER/hospital providers, virtually chaperoned by a healthcare professional at SCMA. Upon becoming proficient in this, they are selectively hired to help advocate for Sickle Cell patients on a regular basis. While we may not be able to hire everyone, all advocates are encouraged to help their friends and loved ones through our program as we assist them wherever needed.