UAMS Begins Statewide Sickle Cell Clinical Program
| LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has opened a multidisciplinary clinic to serve Arkansas’ adult sickle cell patients as part of a statewide comprehensive program to address the disease.
The multidisciplinary clinic at UAMS’ Outpatient Center is led by Robin Devan, M.D., a palliative care physician in the Department of Internal Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine. Clinic staff will include an advanced practice nurse, a registered nurse and a social worker. Patients will be seen annually and will receive any primary or specialty care they may need.
The program also includes:
- A Call Center with nurses available 24/7 to assist and advise providers and patients at 1-855-Sic-Cell (742-2355)
- A Transition Clinic, which will facilitate the smooth transition of pediatric sickle cell patients to adult care
- A Patient Registry of consenting adults with sickle cell, tracking their care, morbidity and mortality over time
“Sickle cell is a chronic, high-maintenance disease, because as a blood disease it affects every organ in the body,” Devan said, noting that life expectancy can be in the mid-40s for patients with the most severe form of sickle cell. “People in their 20s and 30s may present with kidney failure, liver failure, strokes, retinopathy, and other life-threatening conditions.”
Sickle cell affects an estimated 1,300 children and adults in Arkansas. The goal of the program is to improve sickle cell care and the overall well-being of patients across Arkansas through provider training, the use of evidence-based medicine, and patient education.
The program is funded in part by the Arkansas Legislature and Medicaid and is made possible through a partnership with the UAMS Center for Distance Health. More information about the program is at: http://sicklecell.uams.edu.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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