HTC News

Welcome New HTC Staff: 

Meloney Dunning, LCSW, Social Worker, IHTC Mdunning@ihtc.org 
Khajae Henry, LCSW, Social Worker, IHTC KHenry@ihtc.org 
Angela Miller, LBSW, Social Worker, Eastern MI HTC amille2@hhs.hurleymc.com 
Leighann Shirk, MSW, LISW-S, Licensed Independent Social Worker, University of Cincinnati Hemophilia Treatment Center shirkle@ucmail.uc.edu
Maggie Stets, MSW, LSW, CBDI Hematology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Maggie.Stets@cchmc.org
Shannon Tracey MSW, LCSW, Psycho-Social Team Manager, IHTC stracey@IHTC.org   

 Dr. Anne Greist (right) and physical therapist Stacie Akins (center) speak with a Kenyan patient during one of the team’s many visits to the city of Eldoret, Kenya and surrounding areas.

Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center team returning to Kenya  
Health care staff from the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center (IHTC) are returning to Kenya April 7-21 to continue advancing care for patients with blood disorders.  

The trip will take place over World Hemophilia Day (April 17), and is the 23rd trip since 2010 that IHTC health care professionals have traveled to Kenya to provide care to people who suffer from blood disorders and do not have specialized care.   

A special focus during this trip is to help identify and treat women who suffer from bleeding disorders. Women with bleeding disorders are severely underdiagnosed in Kenya, and most do not have access to treatment, despite the high risk of bleeding involved with childbirth.   

The team will spend two weeks in Kenya training local medical staff and will likely see 150-200 patients and also participate in World Hemophilia Day celebrations to raise awareness. It is estimated that more than 4,000 people in Kenya have been born with hemophilia, yet due to the lack of diagnosis and appropriate care, less than 1,000 have been identified and are receiving treatment.   

The team hopes to continue to enhance the treatment options available in Kenya to find and diagnose as many patients as possible. IHTC also hosts a number of Kenyan medical professionals at IHTC and looks forward to hosting more in the future.  

 News from Detroit Receiving/Karmanos: 
We are pleased to announce some new personnel. Earlier this year, Manuela Camargo, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC started with us and brings a wealth of experience, most recently from her work at a community-based family practice clinic with a special emphasis on reaching out to the underserved African American and Latino population.  Manuela is bi-lingual and aside from graciously accommodating her co-workers pleas to teach Spanish, her skills will prove invaluable with Latino patients and families. As a Nurse Practitioner, Manuela has jumped into her role with both feet and looks forward to meeting more members of the bleeding disorders community and expanding her knowledge in this specialty. When not at work, Manuela enjoys painting and trips to the park with husband, Ben and their two busy boys, Edward (age 5) and William (age 3).  

Tracy Loos recently joined our team as a Data Manager.  Tracy graduated from Oakland University in December with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Minor in Biology. She comes to us from a busy pediatric practice and is also a certified Medical Assistant.  Tracy excels in organizational and customer services skills. She is a quick study on the ATHN data system and particularly enjoys the research aspect of her job.  Tracy is mom to two young adult daughters; she and her husband are avid boaters.  

Thankfully Data Manager, Shonethia Perkins remains at the clinic on a part-time basis, having accepted a full-time position in the child welfare/court system. A future social worker? We can only hope!  

Michigan State Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders News: 
Celebrating the achievements of Dr. Roshni Kulkarni, Professor Emeritus:       

• Presented a keynote address at the BIOMERGD – (Blacks Indigenous Other Minority Ethnicities with Rare Genetic Disorders)  conference on February 25, 2023  
• Recognized with a HTRS Lifetime Achievement Award  on March 11, 2023  
• Honored by the Coalition for Hemophilia B with the Eternal Spirit Award  on August 2022  

Other MSU News

• Welcome Jennifer Ford, MSN, APRN, FNP-C  
• MSU is pleased to share that a mobile dental van for Amish care was engaged at the fall 2022 Amish outreach clinic.   
• Heather Lynn Messenger, MSDH, MSU HTC Dental Hygienist, published A Retrospective Analysis of the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network Dataset Describing Outcomes of Dental Extractions in Persons with Hemophilia. View it here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36902626/.