The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2013 Nursing, Social Work and Physical Therapy Excellence Fellowships.
Nursing Fellowship
The Nursing Fellowship was awarded to Kimberly Jacobson, RN, CNP- Pediatric, Hematology/Oncology Clinic, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Jacobson was awarded $13,211 for her project, “Telehealth Videoconferencing for Children with Hemophilia and Their Families: A Clinical Project.” She will partner with young patients with severe hemophilia and their families to better understand their technical capacity (computer, access to Internet, camera), to learn how to effectively use videoconferencing to manage bleeds. Further, she will query fellow healthcare provider staff for their feedback on the technique. The project will aid in planning for future telehealth research in larger patient groups.
Social Work Fellowship
The Social Work Fellowship was awarded to Debra Honig, MSW, LCSW, and Clinical Social Worker Lucy Ramirez, MSW, LCSW, Rush Hemophilia & Thrombophilia Center-Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Honig and Ramirez will use their $10,000 award on their project, “Understanding the Role of Religiosity and Spirituality in Adolescent Patients with Inherited Bleeding Disorders.” For the project, 40 teenagers/young adults (ages 12-21) with hemophilia will be recruited and asked to complete three questionnaires. The questions are designed to help discern the role of religion and spirituality in this age group and in their parents. Based on their findings, Honig and Ramirez anticipate possible changes in clinical practice to better incorporate factors such as spirituality into healthcare.
Physical Therapy Fellowship
The Physical Therapy Fellowship was awarded to Lorraine M. Flaherty, PT, Hemophilia Care Program, Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle. Flaherty will use the one-year $10,000 fellowship for her project, “Identifying Fall Risk in Patients with Hemophilia.” She will create a screening tool for use during an annual comprehensive care visit. The tool will help PTs evaluate and target higher risk patients to implement fall prevention measures and enhance patients’ quality of life.
All grant and fellowship applications are subjected to a rigorous peer review process. Applications are critiqued on scientific merit and relevance to NHF research priorities. They are reviewed and scored in terms of significance, approach, innovation, investigator and environment.
