LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is getting $400,000 to start a clinic to treat adults with sickle cell disease, a painful illness that used to regularly kill patients at a young age.
The disease affects about 1,000 people in Arkansas, according to health officials. New treatments have allowed those with the disease to live into their 50s, 60s or beyond, and the goal is to improve their quality of life.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital treats pediatric sickle cell patients, but once those patients become adults, they have to find another outlet for care. Often that means going to a local doctor, who may not be familiar with the intricacies of the condition and the vast array of other health problems it causes.
Gov. Mike Beebe this spring signed a bill by Rep. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, that gives the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences $400,000 to start a clinic intended to be a center for specialized care for sickle cell patients.
UAMS Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications Leslie Taylor said more money will be needed, and the hospital is in the process of developing a plan to lay the groundwork to get the clinic started.
The clinic was the central recommendation from a task force formed two years ago to see how the state can better address the needs of sickle cell patients.
“A lot of floor-level work still needs to be done (to) make this an effective piece of legislation,” Murdock said. “We don’t have enough of the recommendations of the task force in place yet to really make this like it needs to be. Hopefully this will gain some momentum, and people will see the necessity.”
