HELP US REACH 1,500 E-SIGNATURES BY DECEMBER 17, 2021
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A Message from Blaze Eppinger:
“The care for a patient living with sickle cell can vary drastically when visiting an emergency room. Patients can wait long hours in waiting rooms, and that can be seen as an eternity when suffering a sickle cell pain crisis. Sometimes a patient’s excruciating and unbearable pain may even be doubted by health care professionals.
“What I hope to achieve with this petition is one word, protocol. The National Institutes of Health(NIH) published evidence-based management best-practices (guidelines) that can be found online on how to manage acute complications for those living with sickle cell disease. In the documentation under Chapter 3 (Acute Pain Algorithm) it states that a patient coming in with complications should be triaged as High Priority. A patient should receive pain medication within 30 minutes of triage or 60 minutes within registration. Exact wording from documentation says, ‘Pain is to be treated promptly and aggressively.’
“Sadly, the consensus from the sickle cell community does not reflect the guidelines NIH published. Doctors are hesitant to administer certain medications, triage can take hours, and bedside manner can leave patients feeling unheard.”
“I ask that, with your support and your signatures, we receive consistency. Someone in already unbearable pain should not dread the treatment they may receive when visiting their local ER. You would like to feel a sense of relief that when visiting the hospital, you know your pain will soon be alleviated. This is a real problem; if you don’t believe us, believe the National Institutes of Health.”
This event has ended.
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