Page 12 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_March-2019

At the Hospitals
n A Full Team Approach to Treating
Hemophilia
In 2018, Levine Cancer Institute
(LCI) and Levine Children’s Hospital
(LCH) received federal designation as
a hemophilia treatment center, making
it Charlotte’s first federally-designated
hemophilia treatment center to treat both
children and adults. Patients and their
families now can get all the hemophilia
care they need in one place.
Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder,
affecting one in 5,000 male births. It causes
increased bleeding and bruising that can
be spontaneous and severe. With such a
unique condition, many patients require a
full team approach, with many different
specialists to manage their condition. Now,
thanks to the hard work and dedication
of two Atrium Health doctors, children
and adults can get the highest level of
hemophilia care without having to travel
far from home.
Mary Ann Knovich, MD, a blood and
cancer specialist at LCI, knew having a
hemophilia treatment center (HTC) would
make all the difference for her patients
with bleeding disorders. She joined forces
with Ashley Hinson, MD, a pediatric blood
specialist at LCH, and the two providers
created Atrium Health’s hemophilia
treatment center.
Because our HTC team cares for children
and adults, we not only help children
transition to adult care, but we provide care the American College of Cardiology and
for entire families.
HTCs do more than offer convenience
— they also improve outcomes. For
people with hemophilia, two of the biggest
concerns are complications related to the
disorder, and in severe cases, death as a
result of losing too much blood. According
to the Centers for Disease Control,
hemophilia patients who go to facilities
with a designated HTC are 40 percent
less likely to be hospitalized for bleeding
complications and 40 percent less likely to
12 | March 2019 • Mecklenburg Medicine
die from hemophilia-related complications.
Although hemophilia is at the center of
everything we do at this treatment center,
care goes beyond the disorder itself. As
an HTC, we’re there for the whole patient.
In addition to treating them physically, we
also provide emotional, psychological and
educational care, as well as any support and
resources patients and families might need.
n Geoffrey Rose Named President
of Atrium Health’s Sanger Heart &
Vascular Institute
Earlier this year Geoffrey Rose, MD, was
named president of Atrium Health’s Sanger
Heart & Vascular Institute. Dr. Rose has
been an integral part of Sanger since joining
the group in 1996, most recently serving as
the chief of adult cardiology.
Over the past many years, Sanger Heart
& Vascular Institute has become one of the
most respected cardiovascular institutes in
the country. It has developed a reputation
for not just high-quality clinical care, but
as an innovative group developing new
approaches to many of the field’s most
important challenges, including novel first-
in-the-world treatments, developing unique
care models, and being recognized as one
of the top 50 cardiovascular programs in
the nation.
In addition to his work at Atrium Health,
Rose has held leadership positions within
the American Society of Echocardiography
(ASE), where he currently serves on the ASE
board of directors and previously as program
chair for the ASE 2017 Scientific Sessions. He already experiencing the effects of
also was recently appointed to the American
Board of Internal Medicine Cardiovascular
Disease Examination Committee.
Rose has published extensively about
the intersection of quality improvement
and his specialty of echocardiography, as
well as about the evolution of healthcare
reform. He has played an active role in the
Intersocietal Accreditation Commission
(IAC), having served as president of IAC:
Echocardiography and chair of the parent
IAC board. He helped establish IAC’s
program of research, which funds proposals
originating outside of IAC that are designed
to demonstrate the value of accreditation in
improving health care.
n Rolling Out a New Initiative to
Improve Health
Chronic disease and obesity are
very real issues in our community,
which is why Atrium Health — in
partnership with the YMCA of Greater
Charlotte — has launched an all-new
mobile health unit to serve the greater
Charlotte community, extending
healthcare services to urban and rural
communities where access currently is
absent or difficult.
Wellness on Wheels is providing
health education and health screenings,
including blood pressure and diabetes
tests, as well as nutrition education and
lifestyle management to prevent high
blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes and
other chronic diseases.
“Our partnership with the YMCA of
Greater Charlotte and the Wellness on
Wheels mobile health unit is designed
to provide community-centered health,
connecting patients to a care team and
wellness experts to meet their health
needs,” says Alisahah Cole, MD, chief
community impact officer at Atrium
Health. “Together, with our new mobile
health unit, we can eliminate barriers to
achieving good health by meeting people
where they are to provide intentional,
more convenient access to care and
education.”
With the focus on blood pressure,
heart disease and diabetes, the YMCA
and Atrium Health are working together
to reduce the number of individuals in
our community who are at risk or are
chronic disease.
Wellness on Wheels launched in
January at the McCrorey YMCA branch
and is expanding to cover locations
throughout greater Charlotte, with
initial locations in the West Boulevard
area, Matthews, Steele Creek and
Lincolnton. By the end of 2019, Wellness
on Wheels will serve regularly at 16 sites
each month.
For more information on Wellness
on Wheels services offered and schedule
details, visit the Wellness on Wheels
Facebook page, www.facebook.com/
WOWCLT and follow @WOWCLT
on Twitter.