ATLANTA — In a little over a month, Atlanta Medical Center will close, leaving a gap in care for patients throughout metro Atlanta. Kadeem Harrison with the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia tells 11Alive's Karys Belger that people living with the blood disorder are particularly on edge.
"Because of so many people having to go to Grady, other people were like, 'okay, let's go to other places like AMC,'" Harrison said.
Harrison says sickle cell patients often go to Grady because of the comprehensive care center for sickle cell that's located there. He also pointed out that the volume of patients sometimes means a long wait time in the emergency room which is where patients go when experiencing a crisis.
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"Three hours I've heard of for even five hours wait time in the emergency room," he said. "And that was before the closure."
Sickle Cell Disease can cause debilitating pain crises and other health complications. This is mostly due to the shape taken on by the red blood cells due to the lack of oxygen they receive. For Harrison, the concern is that sickle cell patients will have to deal with longer wait times because of the removal of AMC as an alternative.
"You're at risk for organ damage, organ failure because your care is prolonged," Harrison noted.
Harrison says the concern is compounded by a lack of understanding in the medical community about Sickle Cell Disease. He says there are also concerned about what will happen to patients coming from rural areas for comprehensive sickle cell care.
"Our patients are going to stay home because they're one they're going to want to avoid going to this emergency room waiting for three or 4 hours," he said. "So they're going to want to try to stay home to take care of themselves, which is not really a good thing."
Harrison tells 11Alive he's trying to help people with sickle cell work on their care plans in preparation for the closing, but he's still concerned the preparation won't be enough.