Pat Corley, RN

Pat Corley is a retired nurse coordinator for an NIH sickle cell center. She is also patient advocate and educator. She has worked with sickle cell patients as a nurse and volunteer for nearly 40 years. She is dedicated to educating health professionals, medical school students, and the public about the grave misconceptions about the devastating disease, as well as empowering patients to live their healthiest lives.

In 1979, while she was volunteering at a camp for SCD patients, Pat Corley, then a nurse manager at the Los Angeles and University of Southern California Medical Center, caught the attention of a noted hematologist, who was so impressed that he tapped her to become nurse coordinator for an NIH SCD center. Some 38 years later, Corley is still in the game, doing the work she says she loves most – educating health professionals, medical school students, and the public about grave misconceptions about the disease, all while empowering patients to live their healthiest lives.

Her many projects have included the “Unveil Sickle Cell” campaign, sitting on the NIH Focus Groups committee, the International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses and Professional Associates committee, and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Group committee.

Representative Publications:

Neuropsychological dysfunction and neuroimaging abnormalities in neurologically intact adults with sickle cell anemia

Development and validation of SIMS: an instrument for measuring quality of life of adults with sickle cell disease